Cyrus Ndiki, a 45-year-old man from Murang'a, has opened up about a tough life he was thrown into after losing his dream banking job just four months in.
Appearing on NTV's Wingu la Mtindi on Sunday evening, the top academic performer revealed that his career was derailed by alcoholism.
He mentioned that he performed well in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and transitioned to high school, where he graduated with a B plain.
He secured a spot at the University of Nairobi (UoN), and four years later, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
"In primary, I got an A and in Secondary I got a B (plain). I joined Nairobi University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts and I majored in Economics. I graduated with a second-class honours lower division," he pensively recalled.
He secured a position as a teacher, which he held for seven years before transitioning to the banking sector, where he landed his dream job aligned with his degree. However, he was fired four months later.
"I was a teacher for seven years from where I got another job and I left from teaching to banking. I worked for around four months but I had an alcohol problem and I was kind of a daily drinker," he recalled.
"After being sacked by the bank, I just went back to the village for manual work. I never got another formal job."
After tarmacking for a long time, he returned to the village where he only made ends meet with casual jobs including coffee plucking and contractual farm work.
"Alcohol has its issues but the problem is what triggers the bad habit. Sometimes if you are idle, lonely, jobless and don't have money to look for other jobs, you will look for somewhere to get the alcohol," he recalled.
After attending rehabilitation programmes, he revealed that it is easy for addicts to relapse due to the environment they return to.
Ndiki's plight resonates with thousands of other individuals, some of whom have participated in Second Lady Dorcas Rigathi's rehabilitation program, whose career prospects have been dimmed by alcoholism.
Since her husband ascended to power in 2022, Pastor Dorcas launched a string of wellness and rehabilitation centres aimed at saving the boychild from alcoholism.
One of her success stories is former KTN News political reporter Johanna Chacha who was offered a job within her team after succesfully completing a rehabilitation course.
