How Kalembe Ndile quietly built a business empire

Former Kibwezi MP Kalembe Ndile, who died on Sunday while receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital, had quietly established a vibrant business empire.

The 57-year-old is widely known for running Macha Beach Hotel, a getaway resort where patrons enjoy feeding ostriches and boat riding in a dammed stream, on the outskirts of Machakos town. The establishment is big on offering outside catering. 

But the politician who grew up in squalor operated many more diverse businesses.

Ndile had vast interests in real estate. Some of his known property in Mlolongo township are two flats whose tenants include a university campus, banks, chemists and M-Pesa outlets. He also had rental houses and business arcades in Syokimau.

Years of toiling

The high-end investments are the outcomes of years of toiling through smaller ventures, which Mr Ndile had sustained. They include land brokerage and the selling and transportation of construction materials such as sand. He got interested in the construction industry when he was still an MP, working through Karesh Construction Company, which took up several projects.

Ndile was the go-to person when it came to leasing tractors, backhoes and other heavy machinery in and around Machakos town.

Meanwhile, the comical politician and astute businessman had seen death coming long before he died on Sunday morning while receiving treatment in hospital.

A frail and sad Ndile was introspective, and assumed a pious and conciliatory tone during his last press conference at his Macha Beach Hotel on the outskirts of Machakos town.

Liver problem

The witty politician was known for controversial comments on political issues, making headlines. This time, he called on ODM leader Raila Odinga to close ranks with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka. Then he asked for prayers in a brief speech delivered in a weak and shaky voice punctuated with short breaks. He revealed that he had been diagnosed with a liver problem. 

"The media has stood by me in health and sickness. Stay united and pray for me. Tell other Kenyans to also pray for me because I am unwell," he said on May 15.

The uncharacteristic weakness from the politician was the result of the illness that had weighed him down for months.

"Kalembe started complaining of pulsating stomach upsets in March. We took him to Aga Khan Hospital, where he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and admitted for management. Medics discharged him shortly afterwards after his condition improved significantly. We sought the services of a doctor who kept observing him at home," his younger brother, Mr Sam Ndile, told the Nation.

Save for a limping gait he earned after he fractured a leg in a road accident four years ago, Ndile had been strong. In March, the Wiper party brigade tapped the crowd-mobilisation skills of the politician known for his oratory skills and blunt jokes during the Machakos senatorial by-election campaigns, leading to the election of Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu Muthama.

Abandoned

The father of 10 remained upbeat in the initial stages of the liver disease. But he remained indoors most of the time, meeting small groups of his close friends and journalists regularly. At one point, he lamented that members of the political class had abandoned him at his hour of need. 

Makueni Woman Representative Rose Museo, however, was in constant communication with Ndile. The two had worked together in community development and were known to be close.

“We talked regularly throughout his sickness and he was upbeat. The sickness did not look very serious until Wednesday when he was admitted to Nairobi Hospital," Ms Museo said. 

At 8pm that day, Ndile complained of a stomach ache.

"I drove him to Aga Khan Hospital but the hospital referred us to its Pangani branch where we could not find a bed. My brother directed that we head to Nairobi Hospital where he was admitted. Medics talked of multiple organ failure and challenges in transfusing blood," said the politician’s brother.

Doctors operated on Ndile to correct a problem with the pancreas and sent him to the intensive care unit at the hospital.

“This is where he died on Sunday,” the younger Ndile added.

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