Maggie Wainaina - salt of the earth

Maggie Wainaina did more than cast a "faint disapproving eye" over what happened around her; she was a devout born-again Christian and held frequent prayer meetings with other staff in the ladies toilet of Finance House (the Reuters office in Nairobi).

If you were in any sort of trouble, from a broken car to bothersome tooth, she would say: "I will pray for you."

She was the embodiment of the resilience, compassion and decency of ordinary Kenyans. Their leaders, most of whom lacked any such qualities, refer to ordinary people as mwananchi, meaning offspring of the earth. Maggie was the salt of it.