Lovingly known as “Chairman Sam”
9 April 1957 — 30 October 2026 · aged 69
Sacco chairman who kept Thika Road's matatus honest and his church choir in tune
Thika, Kenya Born in Gatundu, Kiambu County Resting at Family farm, Ndarugu, GatunduIt is with humble acceptance of God's will that we announce the promotion to glory of SAMUEL KIMANI GATHOGO, founding chairman of Kimbo Thika Road Sacco, on 30th October 2026 at Thika Level 5 Hospital. Husband to Ruth Wambui; father to Peter, Mary, Daniel and Faith; father-in-law to Esther and Joseph; Guka to nine grandchildren. Family and friends meet daily at Ndarugu, Gatundu, at 5.00 pm. Cortege leaves Lee Funeral Home on Friday 20th November at 7.00 am for a funeral service at PCEA Ndarugu Parish, followed by interment at the family farm. M-Pesa Paybill 891204, Account GATHOGO. Rest in peace, Chairman.
Samuel Kimani Gathogo was born on the red-soil ridges of Gatundu in April 1957, the third of seven children of a coffee picker and a mother who sold arrowroots by the roadside. He walked six kilometres to Ndarugu Primary School each morning, often carrying his shoes to save them for the classroom, and he never forgot that a good road is a gift.
At nineteen he became a matatu turnboy on the Thika to Nairobi route, hanging from the door and calling fares in a voice that carried over any engine. By thirty he owned a fourteen-seater, and in his forties he became founding chairman of Kimbo Thika Road Sacco, which grew from eleven vehicles to more than two hundred. Drivers remember his two rules: pay your crew on Friday, and never overload on a wet road. When the new traffic rules arrived in 2003 he went from stage to stage, vehicle by vehicle, so that no member lost a licence for want of a seatbelt.
Mzee Sam, as the younger crews called him, sang bass in the PCEA Ndarugu choir for thirty-one years and was never late for Wednesday practice. At home he grew Napier grass and kept four Friesian cows, and no visitor left without a bunch of bananas or a litre of milk. Arsenal on Saturday afternoons was sacred, and he forgave the team every defeat.
He preferred settling disputes under a tree to settling them in court, and he quietly paid school fees for nineteen children whose parents drove under his badge. He died peacefully at Thika Level 5 Hospital on 30 October 2026 after a short illness, with his family around him.
He leaves his wife of forty-one years, Ruth Wambui, four children, and nine grandchildren who called him Guka Gari, Grandpa Car.
“A good sacco is a family with number plates.”
Friday, 20 November 2026 at 07:00 UTC
Add to calendarComing together to honour Samuel and support the family.
Coordinating the mortuary, the cortege, catering and the burial arrangements.
Daily at the family home in Ndarugu, Gatundu, 5.00 pm
Contact: Peter Gathogo Kimani
$66.50 raised of $3,488.37
Drivers, crews and owners raising funds and providing vehicles for mourners on burial day.
Sacco offices, Thika, Tuesdays and Thursdays 6.00 pm
Contact: Joseph Maina Kariuki
$123.50 raised of $4,651.16
Preparing the service programme, music and refreshments for the funeral.
Church hall, Wednesdays after choir practice, 6.30 pm
Contact: Elder Stephen Kamau Ndegwa
$85.50 raised of $1,162.79
Sign in to start a committee or join one to support the family.
Memorial fund
Help the family meet funeral costs and keep the nineteen children Mzee Sam sponsored in school.
$323 raised of $4,500
7%11 recent contributions
Hassan Omar gave $47.50 · 1d ago
Jennifer Mwende gave $28.50 · 2d ago
“From your old classmates.”
Peter Odhiambo gave $28.50 · 3d ago
Kennedy Mwangi Ngugi gave $28.50 · 3d ago
Moses Mutwiri gave $95 · 3d ago
Primary education
Ndarugu Primary School1964 – 1971 · Gatundu
Walked six kilometres each way and finished among the top ten in the zone.
Turnboy, later driver and owner
Thika to Nairobi route1976 – 1996 · Thika
Learned the business from the stage up and bought his first fourteen-seater in 1987.
Married Ruth Wambui
1985 · Gatundu
A marriage of forty-one years.
Founding Chairman
Kimbo Thika Road Sacco1999 – 2019 · Thika
Built the sacco from eleven vehicles to over two hundred with a reputation for fairness.
Bass singer and church elder
PCEA Ndarugu Parish1991 – 2026 · Gatundu
Never missed a Wednesday choir practice.
Road Safety Champion
Thika Matatu Owners Forum2009 · Thika
For zero seatbelt violations across the sacco fleet for three years running.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Samuel is survived by
6 people have shared a memory of Samuel.
Knew Samuel? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tributeRival sacco operator, Thika
We competed for passengers for two decades and he still sent me soup when I was unwell in 2018. A competitor who becomes a brother is rare. Go well, Chairman.
Niece in Houston
Uncle Sam paid my first term fees at Kenyatta University when my father could not. I now work as a nurse in Houston and send fees home for two students of my own. That is his legacy travelling far.
Fellow elder, PCEA Ndarugu
Thirty-one years in the bass section and not one missed practice, not even the day his cow calved. He taught our younger boys that discipline is just love that shows up on time.
Driver, Thika Road route
I started as a turnboy under him. He once drove to Githurai at midnight to pay my mother's hospital deposit and told me never to mention it. Mzee, I am mentioning it now. You made men of us.
Daughter-in-law
He treated me as his own daughter from the day I arrived at Ndarugu. Every Sunday he would hum the choir's new song while peeling bananas, and by Wednesday the whole compound knew the tune. Guka's milk in the green jug will be missed.
Vice-chairman, Kimbo Thika Road Sacco
For twenty years I sat to his left at every sacco meeting. Chairman Sam never raised his voice, yet nobody argued twice. When a driver lost his licence he found the money for the lawyer first and asked questions after. The stage feels silent without him.
