Millie Odhiambo is my auntie, not my lover - Brian Weke

[email protected]

He started off as matatu tout, living a squalid life before graduating to a driver.

Brian Weke’s life changed when Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo, whom rumour mills yarned she was more than “just friends” with Weke came to his rescue.

And for the first time the former aspirant for the Embakasi West parliamentary seat dismissed rumours in an exclusive interview with The Nairobian, claiming Millie is just a relative.

“Millie has been a mentor to me. I want to say without fear of contradiction. She is my auntie. My grandfather and her father were brothers so that makes her my mother’s first cousin.”

Weke acknowledges that Millie Odhiambo helped him get a job at Cradle Children’s Foundation, an NGO that protects and promotes children’s rights, which she founded in 1997.  

“I rose from a mere driver to an assistant programmes director and finally the programmes director by mere merit. Millie opened a door for me and I worked my way up,” says Weke adding that “Ironically I was even her best man at her wedding both in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Yes, she is married to a Mr Mabona who also happens to be a very good friend of mine.”

He adds: “The problem is that Kenyans don’t verify things. They just come up with rumours, which spreads like fire and becomes the gospel truth.”  

Weke also dismissed people’s womaniser notion of him stressing he is rarely in the company of women unless it’s work related and that he’s committed to one woman who prefers anonymity.   

“I’m not an outgoing person. In fact, my idea of hanging out is going back to my birth place and discussing issues that affect my community.”

Brian Weke has got quite a (hi)story.

 The recently appointed CEO of Institute for Education in Democracy (IED) started off as a makanga.  Weke was hardly 18 when he plied the 23(Kariobangi South) route as a tout.

 “I had to get money to help my auntie in paying my high school fees. I could work, pay rent and buy food at the age of 14. I paid for my high school education too,” recalls the alumnus of Dr Livingstone Primary School, BuruBuru High School and Gusii Highlights School. 

His transition from a Nairobian to a shagz student in Kisii was not without its hilarious asides.

 “I once heard a cow mooing while in class and I started laughing. I could not understand how a cow could be mooing near the classroom while everyone including the teacher went on with his business as if nothing unusual was happening.”

Weke managed a ‘B’ in high school but could not afford to join university immediately. It was back to the route 23 job. Weke later studied business administration degree at USIU and online from Newport University and is currently studying law at Catholic University.

The 33-year old’s difficult childhood made him desire life’s creature comforts.  That explains his somewhat flashy lifestyle including a 1995 Mercedes E-320 with customized number plates. “My past pushed me to work hard and earn the finer things in life. I’m young and it’s not wrong to look good. Or is it?”

On being a tout: ‘I was one of the most sought-after makangas’

Brian Weke recalls how his experience as a tout not only earned him contacts but also gained him respect.  “I was one of the most sought after touts those days. I used to work for two shifts and make Sh1, 000. I’m actually one of the first people who advocated for better working conditions for touts. At first we would work from 8am to 10pm,”he says.

Brian remembers wearing a suit to work in the then most popular matatus know as Rigz and Xplosive where he introduced “customer care” in the matatu industry.

“I had a personal relationship with most of my clients. I would knock at women’s doors if I did not find them at the bus stop at the usual pick up time.” Some of his memorable moments as a tout also include cheekily escaping from  being arrested by the traffic policemen.

“Like most touts, I had mastered the art of running away from cops. It was a cat and mouse kind of lifestyle.” 

Brian says that a number of his peers are currently doing well with some living and studying abroad. He also says he gives back to the community and started the River Of God Matatu Sacco.

On time off politics: ‘I won a case against Uhuru Kenyatta.’

Brian Weke, who has unsuccessfully vied for a Parliamentary seat twice has taken a break from politics until his four-year contract with IED Kenya is over.

Weke first vied during the Kamukunji Constituency by-election in 2011 but was defeated by PNU’s Yusuf Hassan. The man who claims he knows most of his voters by name, then tried his luck at Embakasi West MP on an ODM ticket but lost by a close call to George Theuri.

 His current job does not allow him to have any political affiliations as part of his job description requires mobilising young people and educating them on the importance of involvement during elections.

 This January the children’s rights activist won a case against President Uhuru Kenyatta, which saw the High Court order him to submit names of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) nominees to Parliament within 21 days.   

On party leader Martha Karua: “She never listens.”

Weke says the Narc Kenya party leader and Presidential hopeful is a principled iron lady. “Martha is a very strong character, brilliant lawyer who thinks on her feet. Her only problem is that she never listens. I asked her to join a coalition but she could not have that.”

That aside Weke was forced out of Narc Kenya after publicly saying that a single party candidate could not win the 2013 General Election.

“I got a letter from the party asking me to state reasons why I should not be thrown out. That’s when I walked out and joined ODM,” says Weke adding that he does not regret working with Martha Karua.