Lovingly known as “Mwalimu”
12 March 1958 — 5 November 2026 · aged 68
Head teacher who built Gitimbine's classrooms and taught three generations to read
Meru, Kenya Born in Imenti North, Meru County Resting at Family home, GitimbineWith humble hearts we announce the passing of Mwalimu JOSPHAT MWITI KIAMBI, retired Head Teacher of Gitimbine Primary School, on 5th November 2026 at Meru Level 5 Hospital. Husband to Jacinta Kawira; father to Linda, Brian and Eunice; father-in-law to Dennis and Mercy; grandfather to seven; brother to Mama Karambu and the late Silas. Family and friends meet daily at Gitimbine, Meru, at 5.00 pm. Cortege leaves Meru Funeral Home on Thursday 19th November at 8.00 am for a funeral service at MCK Gitimbine Parish, then burial at the family home. M-Pesa Paybill 408226, Account MWALIMU. Rest in peace, Mwalimu.
The bell at Gitimbine Primary School was rung by Mwalimu Josphat Mwiti Kiambi for thirty-four years, and for most of them he rang it himself. Parents set their watches by it. Pupils who had once run late to its sound grew up to become nurses, engineers and county officials, and many of them returned this month to say that his bell is the reason they are on time for everything.
He was born in 1958 in Imenti North, the first son of a miraa trader and a mother who taught Sunday school. A bursary took him to Kaaga Boys, and from there to Kenyatta College for a diploma in education, where he first met his wife Jacinta at a Methodist youth fellowship. He started teaching at Gitimbine in 1984 and became head teacher in 1993, when the school had four classrooms with iron-sheet walls and a leaking roof.
By 2010 it had eleven classrooms, a library and a borehole, built through harambees he led from the front, carrying stones on his own shoulders. He believed every child could read by Standard Two, and he sat on a stool in the corridor with the slowest readers every lunchtime until they could. His classroom rule was simple: nobody laughs at a mistake.
After retiring in 2018 he farmed bananas and tea, served as a steward at the Methodist church, and chaired the board of a village polytechnic. He loved Harambee Stars, strong tea with milk and long walks with his grandchildren along the Gitimbine ridge. He died at Meru Level 5 Hospital on 5 November 2026 after a brief illness.
He leaves his wife Jacinta, three children and seven grandchildren, and thousands of former pupils.
“Nobody laughs at a mistake in my classroom.”
Thursday, 19 November 2026 at 07:00 UTC
Add to calendarComing together to honour Josphat and support the family.
Funeral arrangements, tents, catering and burial at the family home.
Daily at the family home, Gitimbine, 5.00 pm
Contact: Brian Murithi Mwiti
$0 raised of $2,713.18
Staff and former pupils contributing and organising a guard of honour.
School staffroom, Mondays and Wednesdays 4.00 pm
Contact: Fridah Gakii Murungi
$0 raised of $1,550.39
Funeral service programme, ushers, choir and refreshments.
Church hall, Wednesdays after the evening prayer, 6.30 pm
Contact: Elder Peter Mutuma
$0 raised of $620.16
Fellow retired teachers raising funds and supporting the family.
KNUT Meru branch hall, Fridays 3.00 pm
Contact: Mwalimu Daniel Mbaabu
$0 raised of $930.23
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Secondary education
Kaaga Boys High School1973 – 1976 · Meru
Joined on a county bursary and became head prefect.
Teacher, later Head Teacher
Gitimbine Primary School1984 – 2018 · Meru
Led the school from four classrooms to eleven, a library and a borehole.
Married Jacinta Kawira
1986 · Meru
A marriage of forty years.
Steward
Methodist Church in Kenya, Gitimbine Parish1995 – 2026 · Meru
Taught Sunday school and helped build the new church hall.
Long Service Award
Teachers Service Commission2014 · Nairobi
For thirty years of distinguished service in the classroom.
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Josphat is survived by
5 people have shared a memory of Josphat.
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Sign in to write a tributeWife
Forty years of strong tea and early mornings. He would ring his own bell at five and wake the whole house. The silence now is the hardest sound I have ever heard.
Former pupil, now engineer in Leeds
I once shouted the wrong answer in class and the whole room giggled. Mwalimu stood up and said, a wrong answer is the first step to the right one. I still say that in my meetings.
Steward, MCK Gitimbine
He carried stones for the new church hall at sixty-two and refused to rest. He taught us that service has no retirement age. May the Lord grant him eternal rest.
Deputy Head Teacher, Gitimbine Primary
He ran the school with a bell, a ledger and a great deal of mercy. He never shouted, and when he was disappointed he simply went quiet. We would have done anything to hear him speak again.
Former pupil, now consultant paediatrician
Mwalimu sat with me in the corridor every lunch hour in Standard One until I could read my name. Today I read the charts of sick children. Every word I decode, I decode for him.
