Simon Mbugua (born in 1975) is a seasoned politician who has risen from cleaning a butchery to making a fortune through business and politics. Despite being sired by billionaire father, he never received any financial help from him.
Instead, he worked hard to get what he has and where he is today. Previously, he served as the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Simon Mbugua Background
In a past interview with a local daily, Mbugua revealed that his mother was a side chick to the late billionaire Mbugua Githere.
His mother’s lover was an illiterate man who rose from selling terere to a billionaire with interests in various industries. He owned several commercial buildings in Nairobi and Mombasa and was the largest single shareholder in the then Pan African Life Insurance.
“My mother was a teacher, and she got to know Githere. She was Mbugua Githere’s Mpango wa Kando. He never married her but he was still my blood father. And I can say I was raised by a single mother,” he said adding that he first saw his father after completing high school.
He going to see his father in 1996 at his office in Uchumi house. His elder step sister chased him like a dog down seven flight of stairs.
From this harrowing experience, he made a silent vow that he would never be poor.
When his father died, he went for the funeral but the step-brothers thought he was there for the inheritance.
The things he had taken to help with the funeral were distributed to villagers. This renewed his gusto to work hard and smart to be wealthier than his late father.
Butchery and striking gold in shoes
Initially, he was employed as a butchery cleaner in Nairobi’s High-Ridge Shopping Center, a building that was owned by his father.
He made a paltry Ksh35 a day. He saved a bit of the money each day until he found himself with about Ksh1,050. He would hang out in Gikomba with a few people who were shoe sellers.
Mbugua remembers buying shoes that were deemed ‘leftovers’ for Ksh5 each. He cleaned and sold them at Ksh20 apiece. This is how he got into the shoe business. He started buying bales of shoes and soon found himself selling shoes as a wholesaler
Simon Mbugua Politics and current position
He made a lot of money from this business branched out to real estate. As time went by, he started supplying stones to City Hall.
Hon. Mbugua was a Member of Parliament at the 4th Assembly of East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha Tanzania where he served in the Committee of Accounts and the Legal Rules and Privileges Committee.
Prior to this, He as a Member of the National Assembly for Kamukunji Constituency in the 10th Parliament.
Leading up to the 2022 general elections, he was issued a nomination certificate to fly UDA party’s flag in the Starehe parliamentary race. He did not succeed.
Recently, he was appointed the chairperson of the board of directors of the policyholders compensation fund. He took over from Victor Pratt whose appointment was revoked.
Controversy
In the past, he was charged with robbery with violence alongside two other people. This is after he was linked to the attack of former chairman of the Nairobi Central Business District Association, Timothy Muriuki. They denied charges and were released on a Ksh200,000 cash bail.
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