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Martin Kamotho alias Githeri man went viral during the 2017 elections while on the line to cast his vote.
He literally went viral after a picture of him holding polythene with githeri circulated on social media.
He got into the limelight, and his plight was highlighted after the elections.
Five years later, he has nothing to smile about, as little about his life changed.
In an interview with a local publication, his wife is now pleading for support to help them build a home on the piece of land they were gifted in Ngong around the Kibicho area.
“Tuko tu pahali tulikua, tulipewa shamba hata nmbiwa atapewa, hakumaliziwa, lakini bado tunapenda serikali. Shamba tulipewa na hatujajenga, tukijengewa naweza kufurahia. Ama msichana wangu aandikwe tu kazi,”she said.
She believes that people took advantage of her husband because of his quick fame.
“Hio wakati mwingine alichezewa sana na watu alikua anaenda nao. Walimtumia sana,” she said.
Githeri man himself had also delivered the same message, telling content Creator Vincent Mboya a few weeks ago that many falsely believed his life was elevated since the 2017 general elections.
He said that life had been unbearable for them.
My life is not okay, I can’t hide it. I just live life as it comes and I stay in the ghetto…If someone is touched to help me I will really appreciate it. I would really love to be removed from the ghetto, this life is not good. Wherever God wants me to go it’s fine as long as I’m out of the ghetto. You know that I am a celebrity, can you imagine a whole celebrity living in this state?” he said.
Some of the awards he received from President Uhuru Kenyatta after the 2017 elections were Head Of State Commendation and Ksh 100k cash.
He thought that he would at some point he would meet President Uhuru Kenyatta but his dreams never came through.
“From the time I left State House in 2017 we have never communicated again. I always hope one day we will meet and talk so that I tell him my problems because I can’t say that I don’t have problems. Uhuru Kenyatta is my friend. Now that he is almost done with his term, I only pray that he remembers Githeri man wherever he will go,” he said.
Even those promises people made while he was trending were never fulfilled.
“This is where I’ve lived for more than a decade. Many people think I’m rich. In fact, it makes me sad when they call me Githeri Man, thinking I am a millionaire. I have nothing. The people around here know me – they know ‘sina kitu’. Otherwise ‘wangekuwa wananipiga ngeta kila siku,” he concluded.
