His plans were simple. First would be the Mama Pima who sold mnazi (palm wine), then the bar maids in Kilifi and, if resources allowed, he would go to Mombasa.

He had secretly applied for a Sh130,000 loan. He was determined to spend every cent of the money, and then he would meet his maker.

One morning as he embarked on the one-kilometre journey, his wallet was bulging with currency notes. Later in the day he planned to travel to Kilifi town.

A few days earlier, Mr Reuben Tunje Ndago had buried the woman he had engaged with in secret love affairs. Gone, too, was their child. Now he had a burning mission to accomplish and there was nothing to stop him.

The irritating boils on parts of his body had paved way to serious wounds and more serious infections.

He had been in and out of hospital every other week and at one time spent days in bed, unable to perform the simplest of tasks.

Now that he had secured a loan, he had not factored how it would be repaid and neither was he bothered how his seven children would fare after he was no longer alive.

His worst fears had been confirmed. But all that was poised to change. The man had resolved he was not going to play in the hands of fate any more.

With a burning rage of betrayal and a desire to correct the wrongs committed against him, he set out on a mission to “teach” the world, and womenfolk in particular, a lesson.

Fruits of death

Five years later, Ndago recoils in shame remembering the enormity of the crime he had intended to commit.

“It was like mass murder. I wanted to use every penny in enjoying myself and spreading HIV. I was bitter and desperately wanted revenge,” Ndago says.

The Chasimba assistant chief vividly recalls how it all started.

“For five years I had not been faithful. I jumped in and out of many beds with strange women. My philandering had finally borne fruits. The fruits of death,” Ndago adds.

In 2003, the administrator, whose first calling in public service was as a teacher, was a devastated man who had a grudge against humanity.

After becoming a chief in 1997, Ndago says he had set out to enjoy the newly found freedom and status brought about by his new designation in the provincial administration.

He says the bitter truth dawned on him after his concubine died, hot on the heels of her daughter’s death.

Shortly after this, the administrator started exhibiting some disturbing symptoms. Both him and his wife, Mrs Josephine Nazi, developed skin conditions.

“We were afflicted with many opportunistic diseases. We suffered from running stomach, wounds and skin infections,” the administrator says.

He adds: “I secretly visited the Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre (VCT) at the Kilifi Kenya Medical Research Institute. The results were positive and my life was never the same again.”

For a long time he agonised on what to do next. He could no longer live in self-denial. This is when he decided he would dramatically depart from the world.

“I wanted to infect as many people as possible. This was the sole reason I had taken the loan from Harambee Sacco. I wanted to teach women a lesson,” Ndago said.

But before he could put his plan to action, something happened and all his diabolical schemes were scuttled. This also changed his life forever.

“I was walking to the office one morning in May, 2003. I had some money in my pocket. Then I heard an inner voice: ‘Hizo nia zako Ndago hazinifurahishi (Ndago, your plans do not please me,’”).

This startled the administrator, who was then 39 years. He continued walking to his office, where yet another surprise awaited him.

The man says: “I had just switched on my small portable radio when I heard President Kibaki in an advertisement pledge how he and his Government would help eradicate the virus.”

The President’s voice directly hit Ndago as if the Head of State was talking to him directly at a time when he was embroiled in an internal struggle.

He bolted out of office and rushed home, feigning sickness. His resolve to spread the HIV had considerably been weakened.

“I told the people waiting outside my office that I was not feeling well. I needed time alone. I decided to go directly to bed,” he recalls.

That night he broached the subject of HIV/Aids to his wife. He said the infections they had been fighting with could be directly related to the virus.

He said he feared the symptoms could have been from HIV/Aids infection and coaxed Nazi to accompany him to a clinic.

Ndago, for the second time, went to a VCT, this time dragging his half-hearted wife along.

He was overwhelmed when his wife, pardoned him for his unfaithfulness and bringing the virus home.

As fate would have it, the results were positive for both of them. One of the seven children also tested positive.

As the now devastated administrator tried to come to terms with his predicament, he made some tough choices.

“I used the loan money to buy 100 galvanised iron sheets. I also purchased some building stones and a grade cow,” he says.

Walking in the footsteps of the biblical Saul who was touched on his way to Damascus, Ndago decided to dedicate some of his loan money to God.

“I bought a quarter acre plot at Dzitsoni trading centre at Sh20,000. I used a similar amount to purchase some building materials.”

But if he thought the community he had once wanted to persecute was going to be sympathetic to him, he was in for a rude shock.

His contribution to set up a church for the Redeemed Gospel Church made some mouths in the village wag.

Some accused him of feigning illness and HIV status to get money from donors.

“Some Christians in church also distrusted him. They wanted him to hand over the land ownership document for the plot “before he died”.

“To them I was a man on death sentence I was supposed to die any time. When I told them I was not about to die, they excommunicated me. My church was deserted,” Ndago says.

It was around this time that Ndago says Kemri offered him some anti-retroviral drugs but he refused, opting to recreate his body’s immunity by proper dieting.

The chief, who had since decided to go public with his HIV status, was now forced to photocopy the results from the VCT and distribute them to disbelieving people.

“I decided to do this when some started doubting me. This made me more determined to expose myself so as to save as many people as possible.”

Ndago even renamed his church — The Original Lords Church — where he is the pastor.

“I believe I have touched the lives of 500 people in Chonyi. I have made it my habit to talk about HIV/Aids in every public gathering.

He has since graduated from a simple primary school teacher to an administrator as well as peer educator.

Announced HIV/Aids status on wedding day

Ndago now chairs the network of organisations involved in the fight against the HIV/Aids in Kilifi and Kaloleni districts.

His biggest triumph was on August 18, when he shocked the world by announcing his HIV/Aids status on his wedding day.

The most spectacular happening on that day was the decision by the sub-chief to establish two VCT centres on that day.

“I was pleasantly shocked when 12 people were counselled and tested. This was a big boost to the HIV/Aids war as the villagers are normally conservative and suspicious of such exercises,” the beaming chief says.

“More people would have been tested. They came but some were drunk. We turned them away as they could not be tested before going through the mandatory counselling session and understanding what it entailed.”

The VCT facilities cannot cope with the large demand from people who want to know their status.

The administrator-cum-preacher says he has recruited over 40 people who have gone public on their status.

The decision to formalise his customary marriage was arrived at after many sleepless night.

“I kept asking myself what would be the most fitting gift to my wife, who had accepted and pardoned me despite my unfaithfulness.

“Then I realised nothing could please her more than my declaration of my love to her,” says Ndago.

“Nothing inspires me more than the love and the unity which has been brought about by my predicament. My whole family is a team. We share a lot and support each other like never before,” he adds.

He says all leaders ad clergymen should lead by example and stop being judgmental since condemning an infected man could easily send him to an early grave.

“It is true the disease is mostly spread through sexual intercourse. This does not mean people have not contracted it from blood transfusion or emergencies,” he says.

Every morning, the man who not so long ago was a pariah meets neighbours who want to know how he had spent the previous night.

Being the Government’s representative in Chasimba, Ndago hosts villagers seeking various services.

The cashewnut tree (Mkanju) along the road has become an extension of the chief’s office. Hours before reporting to his office, he will have counselled residents under its shade.

His home, strategically located along the road, near the entrance to Chasimba Primary School, now acts as a citadel of hope.

In an area still populated with igloo-looking grass-thatched house, the sub-chief’s glittering roof too is a beacon of hope, a signpost of modernity, just like his pedigree cow, Kanzi.

For a man who was bent on committing suicide as he extracted vengeance, Ndago has come a long way.  He is now ready to serve as a role model to save humanity.

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN source.standard.ke

Elections are around the corner and the signs are already out, President Kibaki has declared.

“The election is near, if you look keenly; even you can guess,’’ said the Head of State who will on Sunday be at the Nyayo National Stadium to kick off the next phase of his re-election bid.

He was speaking at State House Nairobi where he addressed representatives of the informal sector. He said it would not be good for the country if only 55 per cent of registered voters vote later in the year. “If you have attained the age of voting and you do not participate in the exercise then you are doing your country and yourself a lot of disservice,” President Kibaki said.

Tonight marks the last in the long wait for the President, who is campaigning on the platform of good performance in his first term, for his agenda for the next term if re-elected. It will also allow Kenyans to catch a glimpse of his strategy and vote mobilisers, including the ‘wing’ commanders he named this week. It will also be the moment to paint the picture of a united coalition – Party of National Unity – following the open disagreements among the affiliate parties.

Today marks the end of the long wait for him to unveil the shape and form of his re-election vehicle, the colours and the symbols. This item on the political diary coincides with speculation he will prorogue Parliament anytime.

While Kibaki the President has not been in doubt, Kibaki the candidate for a second and final term has not been very apparent.

The President is expected to unveil the faces of the men and women he has assembled to help him execute a re-election campaign. Also in the race are his former Cabinet ministers – Lang’ata MP Mr Raila Odinga and Mwingi North MP Mr Kalonzo Musyoka.

The two were key figures in his 2002 campaign, when he was bound to a wheelchair following a road accident in the last leg of the contest.

Raila is leading the Pentagon team of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) while Kalonzo rides the Orange Democratic Part-Kenya (ODM-Kenya) ticket.

Facing the Orange family will be the Party of National Unity (PNU), which is expected to pass a resolution endorsing Kibaki as its presidential candidate at its inaugural delegates conference at the Nyayo Stadium.

The ADC is also expected to unveil and endorse PNU’ 24-member National Executive Council, mainly comprising party leaders and regional political captains from various political parties supporting Kibaki.

All parties in the PNU are expected to have held their ADCs by the end of the day today, minuted their resolution to endorse Kibaki as presidential candidate and picked their representatives to the PNU’S executive council.

The council is expected to serve the role of the Narc-Summit in 2002.

This time round, the builders of the PNU coalition seem more cautious and unwilling to leave anything to chance, including potential legal challenges. They insist on playing by the book.

Unlike the Narc-Summit and the controversial boardroom Memorandum of Understanding that divided and stalled the Cabinet and nearly brought down the Kibaki’s administration, PNU seems keen on a well-structured outfit.

While the architecture of the PNU points to a unified campaign by parties and leadership that boasts regional and ethnic supremacy, the proof of the pudding is in the eating: They must face the opposition at the ballot, marshal majority votes and secure the mandatory 25 per cent votes cast in five out of the eight provinces.

It will take more than just reciting the litany of achievements his administration has made, particularly in economic growth and general development. An observer quipped on Thursday: “When a party and a candidate start buzzing people to attend meetings and rallies, that should raise the red flag.” That was in response to news PNU parties were busy organising supporters from the countryside to attend Kibaki’s rally in Nairobi on Sunday.

Despite the good record in economic revival, and the improvement in

agriculture, public health services, infrastructure and rural electrification, the President still scores badly in such huge voting blocs as the Rift Valley.

In Central Rift region, Nandi and Kipsigis communities are yet to ‘forgive’ him over the forest evictions of 2004-2005 and perceived persecution of senior civil servants — inherited from the Kanu regime — from the region.

Standing out are the forest evictions and torching of houses without compensation in Kipkurere, Mau Settlement Scheme, Embobut, Likia and Mount Elgon areas. The residents had been settled by the previous Kanu regime and had put up homes.

For instance, by the time the evictions from Mau catchment were over, 18 primary schools and seven churches had been pulled down and more than 6,000 children were out of school. This was a traumatic experience for the impoverished rural villages.

To mollify to these communities, the Kibaki campaign is applying a two-prong strategies: Firstly, lining up Agriculture minister Mr Kipruto arap Kirwa as one of the frontrunners for Kibaki and a potential VP.

It is not lost to observers that Kirwa was the only non-party leader who was allowed to speak at the unveiling of PNU at the KICC. That was before he emerged as the spokesperson of the PNU’s official launch committee last Wednesday.

Secondly, efforts to revive Kanu and reposition it as a serious contender with ODM in the Rift Valley have been going on. Chairman Uhuru Kenyatta has been in the Central Rift trying to re-establish his own networks after his secretary general, Mr William Ruto, abandoned the party.

Sources said the newly refurbished Kanu’s high command is wooing Kirwa to join the party’ national leadership, preferably as one of the national vice chairmen.

Kirwa is yet to confirm acceptance, giving credence to reports that he and Defence assistant minister, Mr Stephen Tarus, have been toying with the option of joining Kanu through United Democratic Movement (UDM), which gave Kirwa a foothold in Narc.

Uhuru was confronted with the difficulty of marketing Kibaki in the province when he gathered grassroots’ leaders at the Gichea Farm last week. “They told him only a personal apology and an assurance from Kibaki would make them listen to anyone talking about him, let alone vote for him. Kirwa’s voice wouldn’t amount to much since he was in the Cabinet that approved the evictions and he never talked about it,” a source revealed.

The minority communities of North Rift, for years ravaged by insecurity, have flocked to ODM, especially after the referendum. This is in protest against what they perceive to be abrasiveness on the part of Internal Security minister, Mr John Michuki, when dealing with them.

“Michuki has shown little time to listen and understand simple nomads and find solutions to their problems. He treats everyone like Mungiki, deploying the army and special squads to kill and disarm people. The evictions from Laikipia last year were unnecessarily rough. He has abandoned initiatives established by his predecessor, Dr Chris Murungaru, who used to take local leaders and the parliamentary committee on security to peace meetings and listen,” Samburu West MP, Mr Simeon Lesirma said in an interview.

North Eastern Province too, where Kibaki granted seven districts last month and converted a military airport into a civilian one in Wajir, has remained hostile to the administration. It is against what it sees as OP’s condescending attitude when dealing with people used to Harambee House being their first and last contact with Government, especially on the touchy issue of terrorism.

While PNU assembles a broad alliance of interest groups and regional political chieftains, the team Kibaki unveils Sunday will also reveal the character and profiles of the men and women in charge of the task of narrowing the gap in the latest opinion polls.

He must also pacify the bruised egos of those left out, just incase they decide to throw tantrums.

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN source.standard.ke