In August 2012, RMK a Financial Director in a manufacturing company in Nairobi earned a net monthly income of Ksh. 830,000/- from employment, business, rentals and private consultancy. He is generous person and an active participant in one of the mainstream Churches. Sometimes in 2010 he was elected the National Chairman of that Church’s development committee. His role included fund-raising for the Church’s projects and this made him to interact with big businesspeople, politicians and foreign donors. The political bug soon infected him and in September 2012 he resigned & declared interest to contest one of the parliamentary seats in Central Kenya. He joined a leading political party, assembled a team of supporters, strategists and campaigners in Nairobi and launched his campaign in the constituency. He also appointed several IT savvy assistants and launched an online campaign via numerous platforms in social media. By December 2012 his sponsored Facebook page & Twitter handle had a combined following of about 33,000 people (potential voters). His FB page & Twitter handle were the most active compared to those of all other candidates from his home County.
After sponsoring a series of campaign events in the constituency in November & December 2012, his campaign managers and key supporters assured him that he would clinch the ticket of the preferred regional party. RMK borrowed Ksh. 40 million for the final putsch using his family home as security. This was against the wish of his spouse and counsel from his close friends (yours truly included). When party nominations were held in January 2013 he lost narrowly and was the 1st runners up with 8712 votes against the winner’s 10047 (note that the 33,000 followers/friends in social media did not translate into votes). The party honchos in the County had noted his financial muscle & material resources and to avoid him running against the winner he was urged to join the party’s County campaign team for the seats of Governor, Senator & Woman Rep. In return he was promised a diplomatic appointment in European to replace a son of the County who had clinched the party’s nomination for a key seat. He put all energies in it and using his campaign team he took over as the coordinator of the party’s campaign in the whole County. He was the liaison person for all the party’s candidates in the County as well as its presidential campaign team. He also deployed his family (Wife’s) car, an SUV to the campaign team for ease of traversing the expansive County. With time he became very close and cozy with the party’s candidate for Woman Rep and this caused a lot of friction between him and his wife. He had dedicated his wife’s car for use by the Woman Rep candidate and her close aides. The Church also excommunicated him after his wife accused him of adultery with the politician. Good things happened on Election Day and the party won the seats of Governor, Senator & Woman Rep with an overwhelming majority.
RMK was sure he would be appointed an envoy to a European country. However during victory party for the successful candidates he was only given a passing mention for his role and nothing was said about the appointment he had been promised. The people he had supported with his money, cars and time were now socializing with winners from other Counties and regions and were not very keen on him. After the Governor, Senator & Woman Rep were sworn in they started ignoring and later stopped taking his calls. RMK later got reliable information that he in fact did not lose in the party primaries; the elections were rigged and the nomination certificate sold to the highest bidder for a cool Ksh. 9,000,000/= (Nine Million). I have narrated this story on my wall before. He was dejected & devastated; his wife was angry and had even sought legal advice on separation and divorce; he had a huge bank loan and money he had borrowed from friends & relatives to pay. His numerous letters to the party leaders, his Governor, Senator and MPs were never answered. His businesses suffered due to cash-flow problems and by June 2013, three of his creditors had commenced legal action against him and his companies. The first items he lost were two family cars (SUVs) and a block of flats near Ruiru but this did not completely offset his loan with the bank. His wife declined to have her income and separate businesses attached with his loans and they became estranged. He began drinking heavily and his health deteriorated. In December 2013 he went into depression and was admitted in hospital for one whole month.
Sometimes in April 2014 a few of RMK’s close friends and associates organized a meeting near Nairobi at his behest and laid out a strategy to rescue him from poor health and re-start his business. Efforts were also commenced to reconcile him with his wife and children. After a series of meetings with his wife, close relatives; family friends; business and professional colleagues RMK got back his family but he had to promise in writing that he would not join or engage in electoral politics again without approval of his wife and now 2 adult children. RMK now has an office along Thika Highway where he is engaged in consultancy work as he continues to repay his loans and rebuild his life and business. Before and after he joined politics and declared his interest in a parliamentary seat in 2102, RMK was a busy person with a lot of friends and people seeking his help and support for various causes. Today, he cuts a lonely figure and the only people he interacts with are his professional colleagues and business associates, 90% of who had warned him against joining politics. He rejoined his Church as an ordinary member in 2015 and uses his personal experience to educate other worshippers against spending family fortune for political campaigns.