upepo
Elder Lister
He left for Thika School for the Blind in 1949, carrying the kind of courage you can’t buy in a shop.
Two years later, poor health forced John Kimuyu out but destiny, wasn’t done with him. He returned in 1953, sharper, stronger, and with a heart that could sense more than eyes ever could.
Then came Ruth Holloway , a 21-year-old missionary from Nottingham, fresh from William Booth College, carrying a Bible, a Braille book, and a dangerously open heart.
Her missionary handbook warned: “Avoid too much company of white people.” She took it seriously and found comfort in the company of one blind black man who could see her better than anyone back home ever did.
The chemistry began innocently: she taught him Braille; he taught her Kiswahili.
When Kimuyu told her he loved her, She said yes to the scandal, to that danger. The colonial officials panicked.
“He’s poor, black, and blind!” they whispered.
Their wedding, on January 23, 1959, was a mixture of defiance and sweat. Kimuyu was given only two hours off work to say “I do.” Ruth hitch-hiked to town, hiding her wedding dress in a basket.
At the registry, the DC tried one last colonial sermon: “This marriage should not happen.”
Ruth, replied with silence . Thirty minutes later, the blind groom and the white bride drove off in a Peugeot 403, as a curious crowd cheered them from the gate.
Ndinda was born three years after John and Ruth's wedding
Ndinda Kimuyu
They settled in Ofafa Jerusalem, where laughter replaced sight, and love replaced privilege. Three children , Ndinda, Wendo, and Elizabeth a living proof that the human heart is the only true race.
By the mid-1960s, Ruth returned to England with the children. They never divorced their friendship. He wrote her in 1977, still tender, still grateful:
“Thank you for keeping a good image of the only dad they have.”
She died in 1996, aged 73 but back here in ukambani in Mwala, Kamba elders still whisper of the blind man who saw love clearer than the rest of us ever will.