Former Kenya Cabinet Minister Arthur Magugu Dies in Nairobi

Art was my roommate in Miller Hall at LaVerne College (now called the University of LaVerne) from September, 1959 through June, 1960.  Some of my favorite memories of him are below.

1.  He could fall asleep faster than anyone I ever knew.  He would sit up in bed and say, “I think I’ll go to sleep now.”  He would be snoring less than a minute after his head hit the pillow.

2.  He never thought of himself as being a “black man.”  He would stand in front of the mirror and ask me, “Do you think I look black?  I don’t look black.  I look like a British subject.”

3.  He told me of how friends in Nairobi would walk around with their arms around each other.  One day, he asked me if we were friends and if we were, “why don’t we ever walk around with are arms around each other.”  So from that moment on, we would always walk around campus with our arms around each other.  When we went to the dining hall, we attracted a bunch of stares.  But, they never bothered either one of us.

4.  I remember his sense of humor.  His quick smile and laughter.  His gentle way of speaking.  He will always remain in a very special place in my heart.

Now I understand why he named my former high school la Verne school.

RIP Mr Magugu.