Charles Wanyoike Rubia (1923 – 23 December 2019) was the mayor of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

from 1963 to 1967, the first native African to hold the post. He later joined Parliament, where he rose to the cabinet. In 1990, together with Hon.

Kenneth Matiba Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 – 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy who came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election. In November 2007, he announced that he would stand as a preside ...

, Rubia led the calls for multi-party democracy and was subsequently detained twice by President

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...

. He was later released from detention after one year, and had been in poor health ever since. He was an MP from

Starehe Constituency Starehe is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of seventeen constituencies in Nairobi City County, consisting of central and central to north areas of Nairobi. The constituency was established for the 1966 elections, with an area of . I ...

in Nairobi from 1969 to 1988. In July 2018,

Murang'a University of Technology Murang'a University of Technology (MUT) is the successor of Murang'a University College (MRUC), a former constituent college of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) ...

honoured the past

Mayor of Nairobi The mayor of Nairobi was the non-executive head of Nairobi City Council in Nairobi, Kenya until the new constitution of 2010 which devolved government was enacted. The mayor's office, officially the Mayor’s Palour, was located at City Hall Nairo ...

with a

Doctor of letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree for his good work in mobilizing the community in the establishment of Murang'a college of Technology. He died on 23 December 2019, aged 96, in his Karen home, in Nairobi.

References

External links

Human Rights Watch article referencing Charles Rubia
1923 births 2019 deaths Mayors of Nairobi Politicians from Nairobi Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Prisoners and detainees of Kenya Government ministers of Kenya {{Kenya-mayor-stub