Having served as Kenya’s Vice/Deputy President, one is expected to be extremely wealthy and lead a lavish lifestyle, but this was not the case for Michael Kijana Wamalwa.
The late Saboti MP served for just several months as the country’s second most powerful person in Mwai Kibaki’s government before his untimely death. In fact, he is the only Kenyan Vice President to have died while in office.
It was after he passed away that it emerged that Kijana Wamalwa had lived a modest life despite being a well-known politician. How did this come to be?
Times Digital Kenya uncovers how Wamalwa lived a humble life until his death, unlike his peers, despite serving as Vice President.
Selflessness
Wamalwa, a well-known scholar and an alumnus of Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, with a law degree and another in economics, was described by those close to him as extremely generous.
According to his younger brother, Eugene Wamalwa, he made sure that none of his relatives lived in hardship. For instance, when his father died, he took responsibility for taking care of his five wives as well as 22 siblings from all the mothers.
He went to great lengths to ensure that all the children in his family went through school to college and beyond. It is reported that Kijana Wamalwa vowed not to marry until his siblings had completed their education.
Musikari Kombo, a former politician, also recounts that the late Vice President would never see someone lacking while he had money in his pocket. His uncle also said that Kijana Wamalwa would walk around with money, give it all away, and had to be restrained at some point.
Whenever he walked into a pub or anywhere else with Shs 50,000, he was literally left with nothing, as he gave it to people seeking cash for fees, hospital bills, or food.
Kijana Wamalwa’s wealth at the time he died
When Kibaki appointed him Vice President in 2002, he was reportedly living in rented quarters.
After his death on August 23, 2003, it was discovered that Michael Kijana Wamalwa, who was Vice President at the time, owned an estate comprising 40 acres of land in Trans and Nzoia valued at Sh4 million, 300 acres in Kitale for maize plantation, as well as five acres of land in Milimani, Kitale, worth around Sh500,000.
In addition to the land, the late Vice President owned only two cars—a Mercedes-Benz and a Range Rover. He also had 20 head of cattle in Kitale.
Surprisingly, after his death, it was discovered that Kijana Wamalwa’s briefcase reportedly contained Shs 3.4 million. Thereafter, the National Assembly released Shs 36 million for his pension to help support his family.
In comparison to others who have served as Vice/Deputy Presidents, Kijana Wamalwa’s wealth was just a fraction of theirs.
For instance, other Vice Presidents, including Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, William Ruto, Moody Awori, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and Rigathi Gachagua, were worth millions, and in some cases billions, at the time they left office.
