The late Dr. James Njeng’ere was born in 1951 in Kongoni, Naivasha, close to the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. James was the fifth born son of the late Stephen Njeng’ere and the late Keziah Wambui. His siblings are Elizabeth Mwara Ngugi and Agostino Kimani, and three late brothers: Benjamin Njenga, Josephat Njuguna and Samuel Mburu. His father, Mzee Stephen had two other wives, giving James an additional tribe of half-brothers and half-sisters who are part of the larger Njeng’ere/Mwara family.
James spent his early childhood in the region of Kongoni, where he attended Kongoni Primary School, and sat his Kenya African Preliminary Examination (KAPE) in 1964. He was circumcised just after his KAPE exams in the same year, and around the same period, was baptized and joined the Africa Inland Church in Naivasha (1963-1964). As Kenya was gaining independence, James committed his life to the Lord.
Thereafter, the young James proceeded to Naivasha Secondary, and onto Kenyatta High School for his advanced (A) levels. A committed scholar, he was the first in his immediate family to go to college (Kenyatta College, 1970-72) where he graduated with a Secondary Science Teaching Certificate. He later on returned to the University of Nairobi (1974-1977) and attained a bachelor’s degree in sciences (Botany/Zoology). During these years, James made firm friends who have greatly shaped his life and played an important role in assisting other members of his extended family to pursue their education.
His college and childhood friends describe him as an organized and friendly person, committed and passionate in whatever he set his mind to. He was an avid reader and an excellent communicator even back then, and would receive many letters during his college days, to which he would respond promptly. During his college days, James participated in school marathons while assisting students by pairing them up with his friends who taught chemistry, biology and mathematics. Throughout his life, he had a strong interest for Kenya’s wildlife, already serving as a Chairman of the Wildlife club in his college days. He visited the parks in Kenya extensively and later was quite disappointed by the comparative lack of magnificent animals when he visited American parks.
James also loved the sports. He could engage in discussions about football for hours and was also interested in basketball and athletics. He was at times able to shelve his strong Christian views, to enjoy a wrestling match (WWF). A political debate was often a match of sorts to James – he was one to take a side and stand firmly by it. His interest in sports and an understanding of the body’s mechanism and diet also fueled his healthy living habits – James was an avid jogger and worked out in the gym often, in the course of his life.
Upon completion of college, James was first posted to Kakamega (early 70s) and Endarasha Secondary Schools (circa 1976) to teach biology and was a Christian Union patron as early as the mid-70s. His then went got a chance to teach in some of Kenya’s prestigious national schools, starting in the late 1970s when he taught at Alliance Boys High School. The years at Nakuru High School (1980-1985) followed by Moi High School Kabarak (1985 -1989) where he taught the last A-level lot are significant years both for him and the many students that he interacted with. At these two schools, he was both the head of biology departments and counseling programs. His exposure to high performing students led him to take a keen interest in academic excellence. Apart from teaching, James also coached soccer, participated in athletics, counseled and tutored many students. During these years, he assisted many families in getting their young scholars into different reputable schools.
James’ students have always been dear to him – especially in encouraging them to pursue their sciences. He proudly kept a record of his students’ performances and pushed them to aim higher – with a good number proceeding to join the medical field, an aspiration for those who excelled in his biology classes. The performance and well-being of his students have always been important to him, leading the late James to develop close friendships with his students throughout his life. In many instances, this admiration had been mutual as the outpouring of support from his students at the time of his death demonstrate. Others have gone on to become close friends to the family.
In 1990, James secured a position at Egerton University (Kenya) as an Assistant Lecturer (Botany Department). Here he also participated in research activities such as determining plants’ speciation and distribution within Lake Nakuru National Park. He decided to further his studies abroad and after several rejections from the universities he sought and failing to get a US visa at least four times, he finally succeeded in 1994, joining Louisiana State University for his master’s degree. He was able to quickly settle in the new environment owing to the assistance from a small number of the Kenyan student community in Baton Rouge, some of whom were former friends in Kenya. James went on to pursue a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Education. In Louisiana, he’s accredited for starting a Kenyan Christian fellowship in Baton Rouge that met every Saturday for worship. This fellowship became the foundation of the current registered Kenyan community in Baton Rouge. He played an important role in uniting Kenyans and providing social counsel to young undergraduates. As a student, he upheld excellent academic performance and constantly assisted fellow students, including in writing their dissertations. In 1999, James graduated from LSU with a PhD in Science Education. This has been an important accomplishment and great pride for James and his family.
During his adult life, he ran many small business ventures such as shops in his ancestral home, coaching students and selling beautiful carvings of wildlife together with his friends – particularly during his student days in America.
James’ first teaching position in America was at the Arkansas School of Mathematics and Science in the early 2000s, after which he joined the Alabama School of Mathematics, Science and the Arts (2005). Mobile, Alabama has been his home for the past fifteen years. He would often take his visitors to tourist spots such as the USS Alabama Battleship, The Estuarium at Dauphin Island and the Gulf shores. He also maintained a deep friendship with his Louisiana friends and would often visit with them, offering free ACT tutoring services to many high school students from Kenya and other countries. The Kenyan community in Baton Rouge has been supportive during his passing due to this friendship. In 2017 and 2019, he visited New York and Rochester with his children’s families. America had become home for James.
Yet throughout those twenty-six years in America, James heart was to return to Kenya. At the time of his death, Dr. James was contemplating his retirement while completing various projects in Kenya. He had built his family home in Nakuru town and among his key aspirations was to contribute to the education sector by uplifting impoverished areas that he was affiliated to, such as Elementaita in Nakuru, the home of his late mother, and Naivasha, where he grew up.
Marriage and Family Life
James and his beloved wife Agnes Waithira Njeri met in 1972 in Kakamega, Western Kenya. At the time, Agnes was a trainee nurse while James was a trainee teacher at Kakamega High School. They became friends and were blessed with their first-born daughter, Keziah Wambui (now Muatha) in 1975, during their courtship. They solemnized their wedding vows in 1978, the same year they were blessed with their second born daughter Ruth Nyambura (now Lehmann). The couple’s third daughter, Eva Mwara (now Kariuki) was born in 1983 while the last born, son, Isaac Gicheha Njeng’ere was born in 1988. Having an opportunity to study abroad, James accorded the same opportunity to his four children who have studied in the US and Switzerland.
Agnes remained in Kenya during James’ studies in the US, but they were reunited in 2005 when Agnes and Isaac joined him in Mobile, Alabama. They lived together until October 2017, when Agnes was forced to return home to Kenya to see her ailing mother, who passed away in 2018. She decided to stay on, with the hope of being reunited with James as soon as he retired. Unfortunately, this was also the last time they were physically together.
James leaves behind seven beloved grandchildren – borne to his three daughters: Mark (14), Emmanuel (13), Mwikali (12), Baruch (9), Kai (9), Nduta (7) and Njeri (4). James adored his grandchildren and had a chance to see them during visits with the exception of the two youngest.
Church Life
James was baptized at the African Inland Church (AIC) in Naivasha, but later joined the Anglican Church, where he also got married. He regularly attended and preached at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church in Nakuru Town. During his teaching years in Kenya, he was a patron of the Christian Union and a committed member of the Kenya Students Christian Fellowship (KSCF). The late Dr. James did not limit his preaching and fellowship to the church of his membership – he built a community of friends in different churches across the country through his students, friends and other associations. In Mobile, he attended the Life Church, a community that has been instrumental in assisting friends and family during the sendoff in the United States. James preached God’s word courageously and tried as much as he could to live a life of integrity – fairness, honesty and assistance to others are among the credos that he will be remembered for.
Death
The late Dr. James was in good health – apart from a few ailments related to aging that were showing up from time to time. He had been teaching and engaging with family and friends regularly, with the hope of making arrangements to finally settle back home in Kenya upon his retirement.
On the fateful day of his death (19th March 2020), James was headed to Atlanta, Georgia in the company of Esau Kariuki, the son of his friend and a resident of Louisiana, who was driving the vehicle they were in. James intended to ship some materials back home where he had been building a stock of educational materials for his future projects.
At around midday, the two were involved in a tragic road accident in the county of Baldwin, with the accident report indicating that James succumbed to his injuries. His remains were then taken to Smalls Funeral Home in Mobile, Alabama, awaiting repatriation to Kenya where his family intend to bury him.
Since then, the family and friends of James have shown immense generosity and support, raising the funds necessary for the body’s repatriation and assisting the family in all preparations towards his final resting place. The burial delay caused by the global Covid19 situation has complicated planning and obtaining all that was necessary for the proper burial that the family and his dear friends would have hoped for.
Husband. Father. Grandfather. Teacher. Preacher. Friend. Caring relative. Businessman. Athlete. Wildlife Lover. Sports Fan.
We will remember James as a man full of life, donning many different hats, and stepping up to do get things done – both in his life of Faith, as well as in the day to day – until the day the Lord took him home.
Rest in Power and in Peace – until we meet again Dr. James.
