Kenyatta’s Driver Living in Poverty Despite Saving His Life

Photo Collage
A photo collage of Mr Wilson Kisiyimi (L) and Kenya's Founding Father, Jomo Kenyatta(R).
TV47

Working for the country’s most powerful man guarantees most people a complete lifestyle change. However, this is not the case for Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s chauffeur. 

Wilson Kasiyimi, started his career working for the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) - previously Voice of Kenya (VoK) - where he would drive journalists around the country.

He credits the media house for opening many great opportunities in his life. He stated that ferrying journalists offered him a chance to interact with the founding President frequently. 

Jomo Kenyatta
An un-date image of late President Jomo Kenyatta besides the Rolls Royce Presidential car in 1966.
PSCU

“I was the one who used to drive the journalists. It was during this routine that I got to interact with him,” Kasiyimi narrated to a local media station.

One day, an opportunity presented itself during his routine visit to the former President’s home. Kenyatta wanted to visit one of his farms when he noticed that his drivers had gone for lunch.

“Let me give you the accounts in detail. He got out of the house and wanted to go and see his land. That’s when he realised that his drivers had gone for lunch,” Kasiyimi continued narrating.

When Kenyatta learnt that his drivers were not within reach, he suggested that he be driven by Kasiyimi. 

That was how his journey began working for the President and even saved the founding President's life during a rally in Meru County. 

“We were doing rounds in patrol while trying to change a malfunctioning speaker. It was during this moment that I noticed someone holding a rifle at a tree,” he stated.

He then informed one of the security officers who dismissed him, stating it was a monkey. He, however, was not satisfied and alerted another officer to arrest the shooter.

Nevertheless, he faced opposition from his colleagues who felt that he unfairly got the job. Kasiyimi claims that he could not see eye to eye with the security officers and that at one point, a ploy was hatched to eliminate him.

These plans, however, did not bear any fruits as he reported the matter to his seniors who removed him from the lucrative post. 

Since retirement, his life has taken a turn for the worst as he now lives in a mudhouse.

But what is unclear is how, the man who rolled with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the republic fell from grace to grass, with almost nothing to show off apart from the fading memories.

According to his wife, the family does not even have a title deed for their piece of land.

"It is just problems, there is nothing else since his retirement," Kasiyimi's kin stated.

Mr Wilson Kasiyimi
An undated image of Mr Wilson Kasiyimi.
TV47
  • . .