Bodyguards attached to Kenyan VIPs have one of the most difficult jobs that has on a number of occasions been described as one of the least rewarding in the security sector.
Apart from working long hours, taking personal risks on behalf of their risks, they also earn meagre wages which often results in poor mental health.
However, there are outliers who have managed to rise from the lowly jobs to the pinnacle of the Kenyan society by attaining the very VIP status held by their bosses.
Kitui East Nimrod Mbai and Mbeere South MP Geofrey King'ang'i are members of the twelfth parliament who once served as bodyguards to top politicians.
Mbai served as Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua's bodyguard for 10 years before being elected Member of Parliament for Kitui East. This was after he resigned from the police service in 2013.
He had previously been assigned as a bodyguard to then Environment Minister Francis Nyenze.
The MP, who won the seat on a Jubilee Party ticket, beat the incumbent Marcus Mutula Mbuvi was part of the Administration Police class of 2007.
King'ang'i, on his part, was an Aide de Camp (ADC) to President Mwai Kibaki. An ADC is an officer who stands behind the president during major ceremonies.
The ADC's role, which is performed by a military officer, is mostly ceremonial; to give the presidency dignity and honour.
The officers work closely with the Presidential Escort Unit Commander, the man directly in charge of Uhuru's personal security and that of close family members.
He resigned from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on September 4, 2012, to vie for the Parliamentary seat but lost to the incumbent, Mutava Musyimi.
He however trounced Musyimi, an independent candidate, in 2017 in a highly contested parliamentary election.
Marsden Madoka, who was an aide to President Jomo Kenyatta was elected Member of Parliament for Mwatate Constituency. He also served as a Minister for Foreign Affairs and Internal Security.
Madoka has also served in a number of top government positions under President Uhuru Kenyatta - including chairing the boards of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
He is married to Elizabeth Madoka whom he met while serving as Jomo Kenyatta's ADC. His wife raised Uhuru and his siblings in her work as the founding President's personal secretary.
