By Faith Nyambeki
He is a man striving to be better today than he was yesterday, at least according to his ‘about’ section on Facebook. And Robert Burale is many things in one. A transformational speaker, image consultant, trainer, mentor, minister of the gospel, actor and Covid-19 survivor. Always dressed to impress, Burale has mastered the art of inspiring those who are almost giving up and he also gives tidbits on relationships. Here is the story we’ve gathered on Burale.
Age
He was born Israel Robert Burale on 14th March 1976.
Family
He was raised by both parents when he was in primary and part of secondary school before they separated. Speaking on K24 Faraja show, Burale admitted that together with his other three siblings they had a cosy upbringing. His father passed away leading to a fight for his property among the family members.
Education
The motivational speaker was a pupil at Musa Gitau Primary School in Kiambu. He joined Bungoma High School for his O-levels where he reportedly flourished in acting. Burale must have attended De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester and not De Mont Forte as suggested in some online news outlet. He graduated with a Degree in business and marketing from DMU.
Life In And After University
In the interview with Jamila in 2014, the actor gave a blow by blow account of his not so rosy past lifestyle. He said that life in the UK as a student was easy and he had all the money that he needed. His father paid all the bills including rent. Burale joined the wrong crowd and started engaging in activities that nearly destroyed his life. He told Jamila how he got addicted to strip clubs and would attend such clubs without fail. The motivational speaker said that they were so engrossed in this vice that he recruited others. From Leicester where his institution was located, Burale had to seek more of the same adventure in London to try and quench his appetite.
Returning to Kenya made things worse for him. With his dad dead, Burale had no money and he started borrowing heavily to continue with his habit. He said he would spend upto kes100,000 on strippers. This got him into debts and many enemies in the process. A number of people have come out to accuse Burale of conning them.
Career: Done with the past, ushering the new
We all have a past and Burale is no different. He came out, owned up to his past misdeeds and now he is a brand. The image consultant was a man knee deep in debts. He has made it clear that he has paid most of debts and is now focused on his projects. The father of one is the CEO of RB (Readily Bold) Company and also the founder of The Robert Burale School of Leadership. He says he charges a premium for his services. When he appeared on Up Close with Betty, Burale told the ex-K24 news anchor of the many clients he got who range from politicians to the corporates.
Burale’s brand has grown so much that he has attracted the attention of the mainstream media. He was among the moderators of Citizen TV’s Fashion watch-hosted by Lilian Muli-alongside Ian Mbugua among others. The program wound up in 2017. He is also the host of “Command Your Morning” that airs on KTN.
Divorce
Marriage is a tricky affair especially when some skeletons are concealed. Burale’s version of what led to their divorce varies from that of his ex-wife Rozinah Mwakideu. In an interview with Eve Woman in 2019, the man of clothe blamed communication breakdown and not “spending time together” for their breakup.
He told the publication at the time:
“I wish I had communicated better with her, listened to her. I also wish I spent more time with her. It’s not that I was travelling or working a lot, but sometimes you can be in the same room as someone else but you are not really spending time together.
“There was also outside influence from friends. Nobody gets into marriage wanting it to fail. Mine failed after one year, two days! It was painful and depressing”
Talking to Radio Jambo Japanni Massawe, Rozinah gave a troubling account of a marriage founded on lies.
She narrated how she would receive calls “from people and police saying Robert had unsettled debts…”
This character of getting into debts which he was not able to pay persisted and she hoped because he was a born-again Christian he would change. The straw that broke the camel’s back is when her friend visited and “after she left she wanted to sue him. I couldn’t handle that pressure plus other personal issues.”
She went on to say that the marriage that lasted one year and two days had red flags from the onset. Rozinah claimed that Burale would cheat on her and apologize then repeat the cycle again.
……. Robert had so many things he was hiding from me in the name of being a pastor…[I was] expecting him to change.
At some point she became suicidal and feared what people would say if she left the marriage institution.
She however takes part of the blame for the failed marriage saying that if she had not bolted they would still be together.
“I was not a good woman because if I was good, we would still be married. We still talk but we have never met for the past five years since we parted.”
Rozinah talks with Burale but they haven’t met for over five years.
Child
The 44 year old is a doting father of a daughter. The chemistry between father and daughter is undeniable. In the interview with Betty, the motivational speaker said he has an excellent relationship with his daughter Lexie. Burale went on to say that he communicates with Joan, Lexie’s mother and the two have no bad blood. She completed her Class 8 at Parklands Baptist School in 2018.
Fight With Covid
Burale is the second high profile Kenyans to announce he has contracted Covid-19 after Margaret Wanjiru. He told Massawe that the Covid-19 symptoms started with a cough before he was rushed to Nairobi Hospital. Burale said that he was on and off the oxygen. Asked if he could eat, answered, “mimi ni mLuhya lazima nikule” (I am a Luhya, I must eat).
He shared a video while lying in a hospital bed warning Kenyans against treating Covid-19 casually.
