The fall of powerful mayor who now lives on handouts

Former Nakuru Mayor at his home in Kaloleni C estate, Nakuru, on Friday. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Former powerful Nakuru Mayor and freedom fighter Kimunya Kamana lives in squalor despite decades of making major contributions in government and politics.

His humble abode in Kaloleni C Estate, Nakuru, which is a one-bedroom house was not enough to accommodate his family and he constructed an extension using timber to create a bedroom for the children.

“The two small rooms took up most of the space. I don’t own a car, but I am looking forward to see if the proposal to have former councillors paid will materialise and maybe improve my life,” he says.

The life of the 92-year-old sharply contrasts with that of his peers in politics.

“The people I joined politics with are millionaires today. Here I am at times having no food for my wife and three young children. I am not the rich man people would expect me to be based on my past,” he says.

To make ends meet, he recently sold his house in the posh Section 58 Estate.

“I had debts. Every time I heard a vehicle stop at my gate I thought auctioneers were coming for me. To live in peace, I sold the home and paid the debts. The house I am living in now belongs to the county government for which I pay Sh2,400 rent monthly,” says Kamana.

Forgot to lock

The former mayor says he served with integrity and never grabbed land or property unlike most of his peers who now lead a comfortable life from ill-gotten wealth.

“I was a fighter in the Mau Mau war. We had taken an oath that none of us would ever oppress the other, especially on land ownership. The oath applied among us and any other person around us,” he says.

“Because of this oath, when I became powerful in the post-independence government I never thought of grabbing public land as my peers who are super rich today did. I was contented with what I earned and was interested in good leadership,” adds Kamana.

During his youthful years, the former mayor worked for the municipal council as a rent collector earning a monthly salary of Sh163, an amount that placed him among the middle class Kenyans.

“In the late 1960s, my boss who was a white man forgot to lock the safe. I opened and found Sh500,000. I locked and kept the key for a month until my employer came back,” he says.

His boss was shocked at his honesty. “He couldn’t understand why I didn’t take the money yet it was an amount that would transform my life. I told him that we had fought for independence to be liberated, not to be thieves,” says Kamana.

He would that month receive a salary increment to earn Sh250 and later a promotion.

“I received my pay in an envelope and noticed the extra cash. I returned it to him thinking it was a mistake. Instead, he told me it was a reward for my integrity. He then promoted me to the position of Municipal Housing and Asset Officer,” he recalls.

During founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s era, he helped freedom fighters to register a land buying company, Nakuru District Ex-Freedom Fighters Organisation (NDEFFO) through which they purchased five parcels of land.

“The land was in Molo, Njoro and Bahati. I took an ordinary share of 1.6 acres in Engashura. Many expected that I would use my power to enrich myself with land, but I didn’t. Each member got a fair share,” he explains.

He was powerful and would determine where one would own land or a house in the municipality, especially in the town where a plot today is worth millions of shillings.

“When Daniel Moi was appointed the vice president, I gifted him a house in the Moi Flats Estate. I never abused my office to benefit myself. There were many opportunities to amass wealth, but I never thought of it,” says Kamana.

In the 1980s, he joined politics and became a force to reckon with in the region, rubbing many the wrong way, including the then President Moi. “I was detained and tortured. When I was freed I vied to be a councillor for Ward 2, currently Biashara Ward, which hosts Nakuru’s business centre and headquarters,” he recalls.

Unable to service

Having garnered the highest number of votes during the 1992 elections, all councillors unanimously agreed to have him serve as the Nakuru Mayor, a position he held until 1997.

“As a mayor I used to earn Sh6,000 per month. I was philanthropic and people would run to me to pay school fees for their children. Other civic leaders were in a rush to grab whatever idle land they came across,” he said.

The former politician has fallen on hard times and admits that he has been seeking financial support from individuals and government in vain. “I was bitten by a poisonous spider, which caused me to develop disability in 2014. I got registered for the cash transfer for the disabled and later for the elderly. However, I don’t receive any stipend,” says Kamana.

He laments that his friends have since deserted him. “I spent a lot of money on my medical bills. Very few people supported me. I had to take loans, which I was later unable to service,” he says.

Kamana is among those who lined up for food rations from the county government to ease effects of Covid-19. “I was not strong enough to battle for the food. I was among the elderly left on the queue empty handed with no food remaining to offer us,” he says.