Over the weekend, Energy CS Davis Chirchir said three companies among them Sosian Energy will harness 105MW of electricity from steam generated at the Menengai geothermal fields.

The local independent power producing (IPP) company is set to generate 22 megawatts of electricity from the wells by next month.

It was later established that the power plant contracted to supply electricity is owned by former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi.

In March 2022, Business Daily reported that Moi bought back a majority in the company after incessant delays in building power plants eight years after they won the contract.

Sosiani Energy is headed by among others the former Senator’s son, Kigen Moi who serves as the company’s director.

But who is Kigen and how did he rise to the helm of the company? Here is what WoK has gathered about the same.

Kigen, an alumnus of Bristol University in England is the firstborn son of Moi and his wife Zahra Moi.

The young gentleman’s fashion sense and style ranges from fitting suits to rocking designer outfits on a normal day.

Moi’s son is also a man of the people and he has, in several occasions, accompanied his dad to public meetings.

In July 2022, just before the August 9 General Elections, Kigen donated boda bodas to associations in Marigat, Kabarnet and Kabartonjo.

Kigen enjoys playing polo since his old days in university. He plays the sport professionally.

For instance, in 2014, Kigen beat his dad in the sport when his team, Samsung Tab 4, beat his dad’s team Samsung Note Pro 5, 5–2.

In Kenya, the game is for the upper echelons of society because of the high cost involved has conspired to put the game beyond the reach of the ordinary people.

Sosian Energy

Kigen is the company director of Sosian Energy which develops sustainability based renewable energy projects across Kenya.

The company was awarded a tender by Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) through competitive bidding to install and operate 1x35MW Geothermal Modular Power Plant in Menengai Geothermal Field in Nakuru County for 25 years on a Build – Own – Operate (BOO) basis.

The purpose of the Power Plant Project is to increase the power generation capacity of Kenya to enhance socio- economic development and diversify sources of power supply by developing the country’s huge geothermal potential.

In 2017, steel and cement tycoon Narendra Raval had bought the majority stake in the geothermal venture through an entity called Sosian Energy in 2017 but sold back to Moi.

He sold back the firm to Moi after incessant delays in building power plants nearly eight years after they won the contract.

“I sold back my stake in Sosian at a lower price than I had bought it. Gideon is the majority owner,” Raval said.

These tailors work with politicians, celebrities or media personalities, especially news anchors and show hosts.

WoK has compiled a list of Kenyan tailors who work with Kenyan celebrities, tycoons and politicians.

Ashok Sunny

Nairobi-based fashion designer Ashok Sunny is the proprietor of Ashok Sunny Tailored dealing in high-end suits.

The 32-year-old is the tailor behind the outfit that President William Ruto wore during his daughter, June Ruto’s wedding.

Ashok Sunny Tailored employs at least 20 tailors and has brought in other partners.

The company has designed and made suits for other prominent persons as well including George Kinoti and comedian Njugush.

Most of Ashuk’s clients are lawyers, youthful MPs and people in the corporate world.

He imports his fabric from Italy, London, France and Belgium, it comes in various quality ranging from super 100 to super 200, cashmere and vicuna.

Flo Masinde

Flo Masinde is the mind behind Azimio la Umoja presidential running mate Martha Karua’s stylish kitenge outfits.

The politician introduced her tailor in an update on Instagram where she mentioned that she has worked with her for a long time.

“My long time tailor, Flo Masinde. who has made many of my outfits,” Karua said in a video on her social media platforms.

In the video, Masinde pointed out that most of the clothes that she makes are made from materials sourced from Rift Valley Textiles (Rivatex).

“People need to reconsider and forget about the imported ones. If you import the fabric then make sure it is made in Kenya. The Kenyan-made fabric is the way to go,” she stated:

Dominic Owino

Dominic Owino, popularly known as Japolo has worked with Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris.

The Nairobi politician introduced Japolo as her tailor after social media users inquired about the designer behind a dress that she wore to a political rally.

The woman rep noted that she has worked with Japolo since 2017.

“Hats off to Dominic Owino, aka Japolo, for yet another stunning dress. One of my favourite designers since 2017. Not one to disappoint. Many of my parliamentary colleagues now swear by his name. Find him on 0729655181,” Passaris said.

Bray Brighton Okuto

Bray Brighton Okuto is the founder of Cittifficial Klothing, a fashion business that makes custom tailored suits, dresses, wedding outfits and African wear.

The tailor has worked with notable celebrities including Citizen TV news anchors and couple, Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla.

Okuto often arranges custom outfits from official to casual wear while also incorporating colourful kitenge pieces to achieve the desired outcome.

The tailor pursued Actuarial Science in university but he quit his job with an actuarial firm just months after graduating for focus on the fashion business.

“My relatives and friends were shocked. They wondered why I would turn my back on a highly esteemed profession to get into fashion business, to date, some think of me as a ‘mere tailor’,” he said.

Yvonne Odhiambo

Yvonne Odhiambo is the founder of Afrostreet Kollections which represents the African print but with a Western touch. 

The designer has worked with influential politicians such as former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and a number of Kenya Kwanza politicians.

Yvonne has also worked with a section of media personalities such as NTV host Amina Abdi Rabar, Sky News Anchor Kimberley Leonard and Lulu Hassan.

Muli was appointed in acting capacity following the unceremonious exit of Bernard Ngugi who resigned in August 2021.

Following Ngugi’s exit, Rosemary Oduor was appointed in an interim basis before she was replaced by Muli.

In a statement, Kenya Power Board Chair Joy Brenda Masinde announced the appointment of Siror as the CEO following a successful interview.

He was among top candidates for the job alongside Oduor and Jeremiah Kiplagat, head of Kenya Power’s training school.

Prior to his appointment to Kenya Power, Siror was General Manager for System Operations at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO).

In the statement, Masinde noted that Joseph Siror has experience spanning over 30 years in different business sectors.

He has worked in telecommunications, income tax, customs, manufacturing, ICT and energy transmission sectors.

“His time in the public sector as well as his training and knowledge will help provide Kenya Power with a fresh start and build on the past success to deliver an exciting new strategic direction for the Company,” Masinde said.

Siror previously worked as a Director of Science, Technology Innovation and Communication at the National Economic and Social Council (NESC).

He has also served as a Senior Assistant Commissioner at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Senior Systems Analyst at the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation.

Further, Siror has served as Executive Engineer at Firestone, East Africa Limited.

He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a licensed Professional Electrical Engineer with the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK).

He is also a Corporate Member of the Institute of Engineers in Kenya (IEK).

Siror holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University (China) majoring in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Nairobi.

He also holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of London, a pre-Kenya School of Law certificate from Riara University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Radiation Protection from the University of Nairobi.

“Dr. Siror is highly qualified and well respected in his field and the Board looks forward to working with him in meeting the company’s corporate goals,” Masinde added.

According to a report on the Nairobian, the footballer and his fiancée, Grace Edith Akinyi, almost lost the aforementioned amount of money to a real estate firm.

With the big money that comes with playing professional football abroad, Olunga and his girlfriend decided to buy a commercial land in Nairobi.

The land which is registered as LR No3734/423 and sold by Captain Real Estate Company would cost them Ksh 67,292,500.

The couple made the payment and to their surprise, the company refused to hand over the land signaling an impending mega scam.

Alarmed by the outrageous decision by the real estate firm, Olunga sought services of a lawyer and sued the company.

“The company refused to honour its end of the bargain to affect the transfer of the property to Grace Akinyi and myself

“They have been consistently treating us to false promises, inly to realize that they had advertised the property and sold it to a third party,” Olunga said.

In his affidavit, Olunga noted that he entered the deal with Captain Real Estate Company alongside his girlfriend in April 2022.

He completed the transaction and deposited money to the company’s bank account at Nairobi Riverside Platinum Branch after signing the sale agreement.

Olunga made the payment in varied instalments, and he had met the agreed price as of September 2022.

“Despite the demand to reimburse back our money, the company consistently started treating us to promises and counter promises without any action

“Our advocate then wrote to the company asking for a refund but they did nothing. They were notoriously enjoying possession of our money and using the property at our expense,” he said.

Olunga went to court in a bid to preserve the land before they lose everything.

Salary at Al-Duhail SC

Olunga moved to Qatari top flight side Al Duhail SC from Japanese J-league side Kashiwa Resyol where he had put his name as a top scorer.

The forward salary was doubled from the Ksh 8 million monthly that he received at Kashiwa Reysol to Ksh 16 million per month in Al-Duhail.

He will earn allowances and bonuses for goals scored and the overall performance of the team. 

The lethal striker has had a fair share of challenges in Qatar with the sweltering heat being one of them. This calls for adequate hydration as the Kenyan player reveals he ends up losing as much as 3 litres of fluids in a game

Despite this, Olunga has had an impressive performance with Al Duhail. In 2021, the towering striker was named the top scorer in the AFC Champions League after he scored nine goals.

He became the first Kenyan and Al Duhail player to ever achieve this. The prolific striker was also the top scorer of the Qatar Stars League in the 2021/22 season with 24 goals from 20 matches.

According to the Harambee Stars forward, he majorly considers two things before joining any football side.

These are the opportunity to propel his career and the financial benefits offered.

“Each and every time you make a stellar performance in a season, many clubs want you to sign for them

“You have to evaluate which is the best option for you career-wise and financial-wise. A combination of both decisions have played a huge part in my movements,” he said in a past interview.

Her interest in barbering started while she was in college in Nairobi, and admired how barbers did their job.

She later got a job as a shampoo girl in a local barbershop, a job that defined her path to success.

Today, she runs her own barbershop and has created employment for other people among them four barbers.

Here is Catherine’s story as told by WoK.

After completing her secondary school education, Catherine moved to Nairobi for her college studies.

However, while at it, she would frequent a local barbershop on her way to school and she was fascinated with how they worked.

A while later, she was employed at the barbershop as a shampoo girl; her work involved washing clients’ hair after a shave and earned Ksh 1,000 a day.

With time, she would shave whenever children would walk-in and ask for less complicated haircuts.

Six months into the job, she had sharpened her skills and when she returned to Diani, she was employed as a barber.

In an interview with Nation, she noted that starting off was not easy as clients were reluctant to be attended to by a female barber.

“With time, I think they loved the idea of being shaved by a woman. It is then that I started saving with the vision of putting up my own business,” Catherine said.

Catherine worked as a barber for a year before she quit to start her own business using Ksh 140,000 which she had saved.

She used the money to buy a seat, shaving machines and co-rented the premises with a friend.

It was not long before the business generated enough money that enabled her to buy another seat and hire a barber.

“Whenever I got a new client, he always came back for a trim from me. This gave me confidence that this was a sustainable business, which motivated me to expand it even further,” she stated.

Business was doing good and early 2022, she moved to a bigger space and hired three more barbers to attend to the growing demand.

“My customers also started asking for massage services, so I expanded my space upstairs to have a massage parlour

There was no need for them to have hair services here and then seek other services from another shop,” Catherine said.

Other than shaving, they also offer other services including dreadlocks installation, manicure and pedicure services.

Catherine also does house calls for clients who may find a difficulty or unable to visit her physical location.

She attributes her success in the business to quality services, a clean environment and good customer relations.

Catherine charges between Ksh 300 to Ksh 5,000 for a haircut.

“I now shave a number of the high-level personalities in this county, including the former governor. I’m humbled that each of my customers trusts me to do the job,” she stated.

She noted that running such a business needs much sacrifice.

“Managing such a business is not easy. It requires one to be present at all times to ensure that everything runs as it should

“It also needs you to have the skills you are offering so that you set the standards for your employees,” she explained.

The media personality joined NTV in the run up to the August 9 General Elections after being poached from TV-47.

Interestingly, Muitiriri has worked in different sectors including the National Police Service.

Here is his story as told by WoK.

Background

Muitiriri was born in 1985 in Molo, Nakuru County.

The media personality was brought up by a single mother together with his four brothers.

“The truth is, being a single mom of four boys can be quite rough when you are the mother, father, provider and mentor

“It’s not easy raising young men, giving each one of them full attention, while also providing for them,” he said in a past interview.

Joining Kenya Police

Muitiriri interest in joining the police service grew as he was about to join high school, and even joined a scout movement.

“I was fascinated with the orderly structure of the military something I lacked. I decided to sign up for the local scout movement

“This angered many of the people involved. They thought my past behaviors spoke to the fact that I couldn’t keep up with such a disciplined group,” he recalled.

However, after completion of his secondary education, Muitiriri scored a C (minus) prompting him to join police service.

He always had interest in radio while growing up and he wanted to be like legendary football commentators were Ali Salim Manga and Jack Oyoo Sylvester.

However, at the Mombasa Polytechnic, he was required to pay Ksh 49,000 for modules 1 and 2 for broadcast journalism, but her mother didn’t have the money.

“My mother was feeling the burden of educating us all. I knew it would take a while before joining college, so I convinced myself that I’d educate myself rather than wait for so many years,” he said.

For this matter, Muitiriri joined the Kenya Police to save enough money and go back to pursue journalism.

The journalist served the government as a police officer for three years.

Journalism

After serving in the Kenya Police for three years, Muitiriri left to study journalism and applied for a Certificate in Broadcast Journalism at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC).

He graduated and after a year, he returned to KIMC for his Diploma before graduating later in 2011.

After his graduation, Muitiriri landed a radio gig with a Nakuru-based station dubbed, Hero FM but left three months later.

Mutuiriri would later transition to Standard Media Group in 2013 and was selected to temporarily replace Radio Maisha’s Anthony Ndiema who was on leave.

After his time at Standard Media Group, the anchor landed a job at Royal Media Services’ Inooro TV where he served from 2018.

In 2020, he  made a move to Switch TV where he presented the news bulletin in English, but the station folded its broadcast department in December 2021.

In January 2022, the media personality got an offer to join Cape Media-owned TV station, TV47 as a Swahili news anchor.

“On Dec 31st 2021, my former station officially closed and rendered many of us jobless, COVID-19 manenos, but by 5th of Jan 2022, God had already opened a new door at TV47, Home of Untold Stories,” he announced the move.

In July 2022, NTV poached Muitiriri from TV47 to join the media station’s Swahili news anchors line-up.

In an interview with media personality Oga Obinna, the mother of two noted that she had to stretch her limits to make ends meet.

Amber noted that after completing her secondary school education, she was unable to progress to college forcing her to engage in menial jobs to make ends meet.

“Our family had financial issues, so I started working immediately after clearing high school,” Amber said during the interview.

Her first ever job was working in a shop that sold cereals, and she would do general work including transporting cereals from the store to the shop.

Amber earned Ksh 15,000 at the time; although she said it covered all her expenses including her fare and lunch.

She also hawked milk.

The socialite, however, noted that she quit selling milk because it required her to wake up early in the morning yet she is not a morning person.

Amber immediately started selling ‘matumbo’ (intestines) which she would get from town then supply to butcheries around her locality at the time.

“I used to leave Gavin (her son) at my friend’s place then rush to town then back to Kahawa West to hawk matumbo. I had to sell all the stock since I did not have a fridge,” she said.

Marriage

Amber Ray was once married to politician Zaheer as a second wife.

At one point Aaliyah Zaheer, Jihanda’s first wife, came out to accuse her of using juju in order to trap her husband, allegations she refuted.

The marriage to Zaheer did end and she revealed this with a lengthy post on social media. 

“It’s about time I share with you this important move in my life, which will also set some of you free because you have been waiting for this day for way too long and I do not want to continue holding you hostage

“Feel free to keep the screenshots, keep em receipts for future use. I would like to inform you that I am no longer married to Zaheer Merlahi Jihanda and no one should link me to him or his family in whatever way,” she wrote on Instagram. 

She went on to be in a highly publicised relationship with Jamal Roho Safi that ended acrimoniously.

Ken Rapudo

Amber Ray found the embrace of Ken Rapudo hard to resist and the two became an item. The two now have a child together. Speaking in an interview on Obinna Show, Rapudo shared how he met his wife,

“I first met her while I was in another relationship, so I decided to give her space. I did like her, but I didn’t want to complicate things with my current relationship. After a while, I became single, and I tried to reconnect with her, but she was in a relationship herself, so I backed off again,” he shared.

The two went on to meet again,

“When she was single, we met for drinks and became friends first. I realised that she wasn’t exactly how people portrayed her on social media. That’s when I knew she was the right person.”

In an interview with Citizen Digital, he explained that he started working on the invention while still in high school.

He explained that he mainly sources materials from phone technicians.

The shoe has a current flow screen that prevents someone from being shocked incase the wires mix up.

Additionally, the shoe has a control system that allows the wearer to control the music, it has power, play, pause and skip buttons.

The control system also supports a USB and it also bears a charging port.

Further, the shoe is fitted with an extra direct current charging port, and an output that allows the wearer to add a maximum of two speakers.

It also has a torch fitted on the front part. Also, the shoe is fitted with an AC on top of the inner sole, allowing in some fresh air.

“This shoe is highly recommended to people who have sweaty feet as it allows fresh air in; it goes a long way in making such people comfortable,” he explained.

The shoe is also fitted with a mode button that activates foot massaging and changes the patterns.

“Massaging is enabled by the use of vibrators. This makes the shoe suitable for people dealing with feet ailments as the vibrations improves blood circulation,” he added.

In case of a bad weather, he explained, that it is tested and the chances of the shoe being ruined is minimal.

The young man explained that his major challenge is sourcing for materials for purposes of developing more shoes.

“I call on investors to come on board and help me have these shoes sell at a wider rate. Our collaboration will generate jobs and improve the economy of Kenya,” he said.

As earlier reported on WoK, Liz Maua and Maria Sidi,  Form Two students at Ronald Ngara Memorial Secondary School in Kilifi County invented a floating bicycle that can be ridden on Indian Ocean.

The two used jerrycans to construct the bicycle that took four months to complete before it was tested in different parts of the beach.

According to a report on K24 TV, they came up with the project to reduce the effects of climate change and emissions into the ocean.

The bicycle floats on water due to the buoyancy of the jerrycans used, allowing one to move from one side to the next.

“We used it on a nearby beach and it was very efficient. Besides the environmental benefits, it is also a fun and refreshing activity

“The pedaling will initiate movement in the propeller which has the blades allowing the bike to move forward or backward depending on how you pedal,” they explained.

The innovation has a total of eight jerrycans; four on each side, a pedal and a propeller pushing the water backwards.

The two innovators used a frame akin to that of a normal bicycle while the metal was wielded together to come up with the wings.

The wings are designed in a circular shape so as to hold the jerrycans.

With a capacity of two passengers, the floating bicycle can carry up to 199 kilograms on a single ride.

She runs a YouTube channel boasting over 376,000 subscribers and 59.4 million cumulative views.

Before venturing into content creation, Miss Trudy was engaging in menial jobs in a bid to eke out a living for herself.

It was a trip to Ethiopia with her Ksh 25,000 savings that saw her launch a career on YouTube that has paid off years later.

Here is her story as told by WoK.

In an interview with with Dr King’ori on the Wicked Edition, Miss Trudy noted that jobs were scarce by the time she completed university.

The YouTuber noted that the available job at the time was working in a supermarket as a promoter for different brands.

However, she says that her end-goal was working as a merchandiser later.

“I had planned my life, I knew I was going to do promotions for a while and then I get promoted to be a merchandiser,” she said.

Miss Trudy noted that although she put effort in working towards the promotion, it never seemed to come her way.

However, while at it, she happened to sell products to her boss unknowingly, a move that cost her the promotion job.

“I wasn’t getting promoted for so long. One day, the owner of the company we were working for came into the supermarket. I didn’t know him, and I sold my products with my all. He was so impressed and offered me a promotion

“That Saturday I went to the office and in front of my colleagues, I was fired, although, initially I thought I would be promoted,” Miss Trudy said.

Following the job loss, Miss Trudy went into content creation and started doing vlogs which she would then upload on her YouTube channel.

She, however, noted that while starting off, she wasn’t sure of how to go about it, let alone the type of content to cover.

“I hadn’t figured myself out yet but as time went by, I just started showing my life and doing restaurant reviews. I never even thought of it, I just knew I loved doing it,” Miss Trudy said.

Miss Trudy explained that for a year, she made content on YouTube but she was not making any money out of it.

“After one year was when I heard that people can make money on YouTube after which I applied for monetization and received Ksh 10,000 as my first earnings,” she recalled.

Although she was initially happy in the beginning, with time, the earnings from YouTube seemed little but she was determined to soar higher.

“I didn’t see a big future but I loved it and something in me told me to keep going. It’s all about consistency, determination and giving yourself time,” she said.

With determination and the zeal to succeed in her newfound career, Miss Trudy rose to the point of making up to Ksh 1 million per month.

From YouTube, Miss Trudy was also able to bag herself a boyfriend, Ghanaian YouTuber and philanthropist, Wode Maya.

She noted that Maya approached her via Instagram and told her that she was flying to Kenya to create content.

However, by the time she checked the message, it was three months after he had visited Kenya for the same.

The two kept communicating and a month later, Maya invited her to accompany him to a trip to Ethiopia.

“Since I started working to that point, I had saved Ksh 40,000 which I used part of it to travel. That’s the best decision that I’ve ever made in my life because he just transformed my life,” she said.

Obiri, her husband Tom Nyaundi and their daughter, Tania Macheche live in Boulder, Colorado.

According to New York Times, the runner relocated to the US months to her marathon debut in New York in November 2022.

The relocation also followed her decision to quit track running to target the marathon.

During the just concluded Boston Marathon where Obiri emerged victorious, her husband and daughter were among those who turned up to cheer her.

The two were at the race’s finish line and embraced the long-distance runner as soon as she crossed the winner’s tape.

“That was one good moment for me, at the finish line seeing my daughter. I cannot even explain what I felt,” Obiri said in an interview with BBC Africa.

On her relocation to the US, Obiri also mentioned that she needed to be close to her coach to monitor her progress.

“When switching to the road, I felt I needed a coach on the ground with me in training. On track you can train without a coach present and do well, but with the marathon sometimes you need a coach to watch what you are doing,” she said.

At the US, she joined her coach, retired American athlete Dathan Ritzenhein.

All this time, her husband and daughter were back in Kenya awaiting their visas.

“It was a challenge because you don’t have a family in the US. Sometimes the time difference (for) calling is not good. Maybe when you call the child is sleeping

“The most important thing is the family understands what you are going there to do, because it’s a short career. The family give me a lot of time, support and a lot of encouragement,” Obiri said.

Obiri noted that her separation from her family led her to question her decision to relocate to the US.

“Tania was always telling me ‘Mommy, I want you to come now’. When she tells you, you feel like crying, you feel you don’t have morale. Why am I here and my baby’s crying there?” She stated.

Despite finishing sixth in her debut marathon, she dusted herself and emerged winner in her second marathon in Boston.

“You don’t need to think about anything else. You are thinking about your family and the race and when your family is there to watch you, they give you a lot of encouragement,” she said.

Nyaundi has enrolled as a student while their daughter is also in school.

“The first week was terrible for her because she didn’t have friends here, it’s a new environment,” she said, fretting as any mother would

“But Tania is so friendly. So after one week and a half, she was coming and telling mum ‘I have some friends, this one and this one’,” she said.

The athlete is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country.

Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres.

She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5000 m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record.

The mother of one also took world bronze for the 1500 metres in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022.

She won the 3000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She is the 2019 World Cross Country champion.

Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.