Josiah Mwangi Kariuki (21 March 1929 – 2 March 1975), popularly referred to as 'JM', was a Kenyan socialist politician during the administration of Jomo Kenyatta's government. He held different government positions from Kenya's independence in 1963 until his assassination in 1975. Early life J. M. Kariuki was born in Kabati-ini town in Rift Valley province, to Kariuki Kigani and Mary Wanjiku. He was the only boy in a family of five siblings. In 1938, he briefly enrolled in Evanson's Day School but dropped out shortly after due to a lack of school fees. He worked on a European settler's farm until 1946 when he won a bet on a horse at the Nakuru Races. Using his winnings he re-enrolled himself in primary school and although he attended several schools he was finally able to finish his primary education in 1950. Later, he joined King's College Budo in Uganda's Wakiso district for his secondary education. Political life The start of Kariuki's political career is usually traced to 1946 when he listened to a speech at a political rally in which Jomo Kenyatta denounced the way the British colonial government was treating native Kenyans. It is, however, likely that he became interested in politics at an early age. Before his birth, his parents had been displaced in 1928 from their family land, Chinga, in the Nyeri native reserve, to work in the 'White Highlands'. There, they became squatters on a European settler's farm, deprived of land rights and essentially forced to work on settler land for low wages. In the late 1940s, he joined his primary school drama group which presented plays dramatizing efforts to resist colonial rule. While in Uganda for his secondary education, he closely followed the struggles that local Kenyans were facing from the European settlers. On 22 October 1952, he graduated from secondary school and returned to Kenya shortly before the country was placed under a State of Emergency by the new Governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, and Kariuki joined the Mau Mau uprising. After Kariuki took his oath, he started working as Mau Mau liaison officer between Eldoret and Kisumu. He also helped in soliciting money, boots and housing for Mau Mau. This led to his arrest in his hotel, which was working as a front to his political work. He was then detained in various camps (including Kowop and Langata) from 1953 until his release, seven