Former Nairobi governor, Polycarp Igathe, is seen as one of the luckiest persons in the country owing to the rate at which he changes jobs.
Igathe, while narrating his personal story on Inooro TV, on Wednesday, April 20, shared details on his personal, professional, and political lives as well as his interest in Nairobi’s gubernatorial seat.
The former Vivo Energy Sales and Marketing Vice President attributed his success to God’s favour, dismissing the notion that his vast connections in the business and political space were the reasons for his impressive profile.
The gubernatorial candidate recalled some personal experiences where he survived by sheer luck including the dramatic incident where he was shot at by then-nominated Senator Paul Njoroge in February 2017.
Igathe was serving as Vivo MD when he visited a petrol station run by Njoroge and attempted to have it closed over disregard of some of the franchise agreements. The infuriated senator, however, took out his gun and shot in the MD's direction - in the full glare of cameras.
"God’s favor is always on my side, you have seen me miss a bullet, I survived the Westgate attack, I escaped the 1998 bomb blast narrowly," he explained.
Igathe dismissed reports that he is a deep state project, adding that he is a self made technocrat cum politician.
“I am here because of God, those terming me a deep state candidate should know there’s no deep state that is greater than God, it is Nairobi residents who have asked me to be their Governor,” he stated.
While calling on Nairobi electorate to vote for him, Igathe argued that politics does not necessarily have to be dirty.
“Politics doesn’t have to be murky, it is the most charitable endeavor you can commit to, it is self-sacrifice of the highest order, but we have normalized the culture of viewing politicians as automated teller machines to dish money, that is the myth we want to debunk in Jubilee Party.”
Igathe first made political headlines when he was picked by Mike Sonko as his running mate in the runup to the 2017 elections.
Despite resigning after six months of assuming the position of the deputy governor and falling out with his boss, Igathe maintains that they are still good friends with Sonko.
The businessman reiterated that he is more of a technocrat than a politician and thus the best suited candidate for the city top job.
“If I were not a politician, I would not have been on the first page of today’s paper,” stated Igathe.
He explained that his resignation from the city job was informed by the poor management of City Hall and the high cases of graft.
“There was so much corruption happening in the Nairobi City County Government. I had to stand for my integrity and quit.”
The fifty-year-old is married to Catherine Igathe who is the Managing Director at AIG Kenya.
