During the 2007 general elections in Kenya, our family was forcefully evicted out of Mumias, following the heavily contested polls because we are from a different tribe, not indigenous to the area. Our house was burnt down forcing us to move back to our ancestral home in Nyahururu, 800Kms away, where we ‘belong tribally’. Just like that, we left what we had called home for 22 years since my dad arrived in 1985.
I am originally from Central province in Kenya, but grew up in Mumias, in Western Kenya. Close to the sugarcane plantations and ‘river shimiche’. Both my siblings and I schooled here. I even met my wife here. We used to play together as kids.
After the evictions, I moved to Nairobi to study and work as a Sales Manager in a motor vehicle dealership company. With the savings I made, I took my younger siblings to high school and college.
Now, after 16 years of being employed, I am moving on. I have just set up my own motor vehicle dealership company. The upbringing that I had has greatly influenced who I am today in so many ways. It made me appreciate different cultures and our ability to co-exist as humans despite differences in ethnicity, which in no way determines who we are at heart.
In the future, my fear is that, despite lessons learned in the past, technological advancement, travel and exposure, young people are still considerably tribal and racial which may have adverse effects to the larger society we live in today.
As I continue to grow my business, I am keen to continue making a contribution to education, and socio-economic development of the vulnerable in society. I believe, through education, livelihoods can be improved and self-reliance can be achieved.