I have nothing to show for my Sh16m windfall
Shetemi Lesakalpo who lost his right hand to an explosion and received Sh16 million in 2003. He has nothing to show for the millions.
What you need to know:
- After losing his right hand to an explosion and getting compensated, his uncle took almost half of the cash and disappeared.
- Mr Lesakalpo misused the remaining money and is now broke.
- Mr Lesakalpo was a 19-year-old moran when he received the compensation.
Shetemi Lesakalpo is a bitter man.
After losing his right hand to an explosion and getting compensated, his uncle took almost half of the cash and disappeared.
Mr Lesakalpo misused the remaining money and is now broke.
Now 36, Mr Lesakalpo received Sh16 million in 2003.
A road accident, blamed on drink driving, claimed the life of his uncle.
Mr Lesakalpo was only 12 when he got injured as he was grazing his father’s goats in Naichamunya.
“Lenkima, the boy I was with, picked up something and began hitting it with a stone. It exploded, killing him instantly. Images of his dismembered body are still fresh in my mind,” Lesakalpo said.
The boy lost his arm and was badly injured the legs, chest and abdomen.
Mr Lesakalpo was a 19-year-old moran when he received the compensation.
“The uncle who had taken me to hospital and settled part of the medical bill took Sh7 million. He was with me throughout the process of claiming the money and signed a lot of papers since my hand had been amputated,” Mr Lesakalpo said.
“He bought a Land Rover, started a business and built a house. I hurriedly constructed a rental block in Archer’s Post, bought two lorries and spent the rest of the money,” he said.
Never kept records
Mr Lesakalpo cannot account for at least Sh5 million because he never kept any records but admits that he travelled and drank a lot.
“I sold the lorries in 2006 and 2009. Later, I also sold the building to a friend who paid part of the money after we signed an agreement in 2012. Unfortunately, he never completed the payment,” he said.
Mr Lesakalpo puts up at his father’s home in Merille while his wife and six children live in different places.
His uncle’s homestead was deserted when the Nation team visited.
“That is the vehicle that killed him,” Mr Lesakalpo said, pointing to a mangled wreckage.
Because of his injuries and an amputated hand, Mr Lesakalpo says he cannot be engaged in manual jobs though he sometimes sells fruits and vegetables at Merille market.
And life in penury is taking a heavy toll on this former millionaire. “I get depressed when I think about the money. I had the chance to change my life and the financial status of my family and community forever but squandered it,” he said.
“People took advantage of me and the money divided our family. I should have managed the situation better.”
Regrets
Mr Lesakalpo says he regrets not following the financial advice given by British lawyer Martyn Day who represented the victims and their families during the case.
Mr Lesakalpo’s friend Benjamin Tangazo Lengima, who was also compensated by the British government, died after a long illness six years ago.
Mr Lengima’s left hand was amputated following injuries sustained in a 1998 explosion.
His father Lengima Tarpeyo, 78, says Tangazo built a house for himself, his sister and another brother Steven Njaluan.
“Building houses for his siblings was good. Unfortunately, there was no peace in this home. Disputes raged all the time. Steven killed himself after getting the house. We have not known peace,” the elderly man said.
His wife Duraiyo says the rows show no signs of ending.
“My grandchildren settled in the houses Benjamin built but they have a lot of problems. They lost their fathers and have no support,” she says.
