Ichung’wa: I purposed never to be anybody’s slave

Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung’wa was born and bred in the countryside.

He has stayed true to his upbringing to date and lives a simple life in the very village that raised him in Kikuyu, without the opulence often associated with Kenyan politicians.

Ichung’wa, who is a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto, recently spoke to the Nation about family and career.

“I was born about 44 years ago in Gikambura Village in Karai Location in what is now known as Kikuyu Constituency. We are a large family, 13 of us, 12 from my mother and a stepmother. I am the second last born and the last son of my parents,” Ichung’wa said.

Growing up, Ichung’wa spent most of his time around his father who was a businessman, something that would influence him later on in life.

“I started my education journey at Kikuyu Township Primary School and was lucky enough to have my father take me to and from school every single day. Being a businessman, I learnt a lot from my father at a tender age and that influenced me later in life,” said Ichung’wa.

Growing up in the village

Ichung’wa grew up in a village with no electricity. Water was hard to come by and the roads were deplorable.

These are some of the things that motivated him to work hard in school with the hope of changing his village in the future.

“We only used to see electricity in Nairobi from afar since Kikuyu is on an elevation. Because of that, we called Nairobi kiamatawa (which loosely translates to a place of light in Gikuyu). I wanted to change things in the area that I grew up. That is why I opted to continue living in my village even after I became an MP,” he said. 

After completing his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), the young Ichung’wa proceeded to Alliance High School in 1990.

The four years Mr Ichung’wa spent at Alliance High School shaped his life and perception of ethnicity.

“I grew up around one ethnic community but Alliance was different. I came across people from across the country. It's then that I got to appreciate that Kenya is bigger than Kikuyu and that has helped me in my work today as a politician,” he added.

Ichung’wa, while growing up, wanted to be a lawyer but, as fate would have it, he missed the university cut-off point for his career of choice by two points.

“I ended up at the University of Nairobi (UoN) pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and History,” he says.

But, in the two years preceding his admission in university, Ichung’wa took a Certificate Public Accountant (CPA) course at Strathmore School of Accounting.

In 1996, he joined the University of Nairobi, graduating with an honours degree in Economics in the year 2000.
Later, he enrolled for a diploma course in Banking and Finance after he qualified as a CPA-K while still in his second year at the university.

“I imagined that upon graduation from the university, employers would be lining up outside our gate to get my CV and give me a job. It was never to be,” Mr Ichung’wa says with a chuckle.

He sent out ''hundreds'' of CVs to potential employers. However, nothing was forthcoming.

It was then that he decided to join his brother who used to work at Nyamakima.

His brother had ventured into safety shoes business alongside two Ugandans. Mr Ichung’wa soon became the manager-cum-sales and marketing person. In a nutshell, he was doing everything at their briefcase company. 

In December 2000, he came across a job advert in the newspapers, applied and got the job.

That was the beginning of his employment journey, which started at Diversey Lever East Africa Limited.

All the jobs that followed -- at Madison Insurance Company Limited, The Standard Group and Safex Africa Limited -- were through newspaper adverts.

“A lot of people think that newspaper job adverts are a mere formality, that you can never get a job through a newspaper advert. All the jobs I got were through newspaper adverts,” he said.

During his first job as a cash accountant, he managed to save Sh15,000 each month from his salary of Sh27,000.

Butchery business

But then in September 2002, he lost his brother. His employer was only willing to give him three days to mourn his brother. Ichung’wa promptly quit the job.

Using his savings, a loan from a sacco and help from his father, he started a butchery near an upcoming bus stop in Kikuyu.

“My dad was a butcher for  many years and he had a plot near an upcoming bus stop. I asked him to give me a small part of the plot for me to put up a butchery. I told him I wanted to leave employment by the end of that year. My dad was kind enough to give me some space and I started my business,” he narrated.

Over the years, Mr Ichung’wa expanded his butchery business even after he secured employment in different companies.

“I purposed that I would never be anybody’s slave. I told myself I would never leave my business and I would never be desperate; I would always have a fallback plan. I continued running my business and, with time, opened two other small butcheries,” he said.

The second-term legislator says that the desire and passion to succeed has been his key driver in his life.
He also says he has never been constrained by any of his past jobs.

“Some of my peers laughed at me when I started my butchery business. They kept asking me, ‘with all your education, the best you can do is run a butchery that your illiterate father ran?’ But I said I would do it, and I did it,” Ichung’wa said.

The father of three daughters, who is also a pig farmer, says that through the years, he has learnt not to be limited by his circumstances.