Peter Mangiti, who served as Devolution PS under then Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, has narrated how his life changed since being hounded out of office over corruption allegations.
The Daily Nation of Saturday, September 14, 2019, published that during an interview with Peter, he disclosed that many of his friends have abandoned him.
The journalist caught up with him at the Royal Golf Course on Nairobi’s Ngong road, where he spends most of his days
“The burden of betrayal rests on my fake friends who vanished the minute they heard I was in trouble. It’s not on me,” he told the reporter.
“I take a different view. My phone never rings anymore, but this is a blessing in disguise. I now know my fake friends from the genuine ones. This experience has helped me sieve a lot of fake friends,” Mangiti added.
The career civil servant disclosed that he has had to adjust his lifestyle since he left the corridors of power.
Mangiti admitted that he has had to sell two of his three cars, adding that if the one he currently owns broke down, he would have to call a cab on one of the taxi-hailing apps or jump into a matatu.
“You can imagine coming from earning Ksh1 million a month to just Ksh 68,000. How do you survive? But I have learnt not to be bitter. If you are going through such challenges and you add bitterness, you could easily die,” he explained.
When the former government boss tries to reach out to family members for financial assistance, they wonder how he didn’t amass wealth while in power.
“It is better to have one or two friends than a bunch who sing your praises but are happy to see you go down. You have to battle with perceptions. Some family members whom I turn to when I am financially struggling, wonder how daft I was if I didn’t leave government as a rich man,” he spoke.
He is currently providing counselling services to another former PS – who was also pushed out of office – on how to cope with the stress and humiliation that comes with being pushed out of office.
