Days after the burial of Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ngeno, stories about the late leader continue to emerge online.
Among them is a personal account by a man identified as Phoenix Rising, who claimed on Facebook that the MP once owed him KSh 2,450 for manual work he did years ago, a debt he now says he has forgiven following Ngeno’s death.
Ngeno was among six people who died in a tragic helicopter crash in Nandi, an incident that shocked many Kenyans and drew widespread tributes from political leaders and residents of Narok County.
He was buried on Friday in an emotional ceremony attended by family, colleagues and local leaders.
In his Facebook post, Phoenix Rising recalled working at the MP’s home in 2012 when he was still unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.
According to him, his aunt’s husband, Joseph Tirita, had been contracted to carry out construction work at Ngeno’s residence and invited him to assist as a casual labourer.
“At that time he was building his second house after demolishing his first three-roomed mud house. My aunt’s husband was contracted to put concrete and plaster the floor, so he called me because I was jobless,” Phoenix wrote.
He explained that his duties included breaking stones, mixing ballast and fetching water for the fundis. For the work, he said he had been promised a daily wage of KSh 150.
After completing the house, the team also started constructing a water tank at the compound. However, Phoenix said the structure later collapsed and was reportedly converted into a kitchen.
For about three weeks, the workers continued with the project while surviving mainly on boiled maize that was provided during the work.
However, Phoenix said the payment they expected at the end of the job never came.
“We were told to wait for payment, which never came,” he wrote.
He later approached a man identified as Lunuya Leguta, who had been overseeing the work, to inquire about the money. According to Phoenix, Leguta told him that the funds meant for the workers had not been released, but he still gave him KSh 250 from his own pocket.
Phoenix said he used the money to buy clothes at Olmelil market, spending KSh 80 on a red jumper and KSh 120 on a grey trouser. He also bought githeri and an avocado before saving the remaining KSh 30.
Facing financial hardship, he later admitted stealing his mother’s chicken and selling it for KSh 350 before travelling to Kabianga, where he worked manual jobs for about a year.
Despite the unpaid wages, Phoenix said he later benefited from the Emurua Dikirr NG-CDF bursary, which helped him study journalism and mass communication at Nairobi Aviation College.
“That’s why I respected the late Ngong’ even though at some point I disagreed with him politically. I have forgiven the KSh 2,450 debt,” he wrote.