Tuju: From rags to aspiring president

Raphael Tuju, 52, considers himself a son of many worlds. He is in the race for presidency and is determined to run it to the finish. He spoke to Peter Muiruri.With his father working for the then East African Railways and Harbours, Raphael’s sojourn in diverse stations dotting the Kenyan stretch of the railway line as a young boy gave him first hand understanding of the people he hopes to lead if elected president.However, it is the experiences he encountered at his rural home in Bondo that shaped the man who now feels he has what it takes to be president. "It is true that millions of children in Kenya do go to school barefoot. It is also true that many go without lunch. I have gone through that. However, it not everyday that a nine-year-old is called upon to act mum and dad in the home," he says.Raphael is referring to the many times when, as first-born, he was called upon to look after his siblings as his mother spent endless trips to hospital taking care of their sickly second born brother. Unfortunately, he died when Raphael was 12. That was one of the trying moments Tuju had to contend with.Given his father’s meagre salary, the family had to look for other means of survival. Young Tuju would often ferry sugarcane from the farm to the market hoping to sell and pay the local posho mill operator for maize grinding.Hardships"Whenever the sugarcane would not sell, I would either negotiate with the posho mill operator for credit extension or offer to sweep the floor of the mill in exchange for the milling. Otherwise, it would be another night without food," says he.And those were not the only tribulations the former Cabinet minister and MP for Rarieda waded through. After haggling in the market, he would often go to a home without running water and make a trip down a steep slope to the river. An incident well etched in his mind was when a pale full of water he was carrying tipped over from his head spilling the contents just as he was about to reach home. "I was so heartbroken that I vowed to make sure that my mother would one day get piped water. Our home and Rarieda Constituency eventually got running water," says Tuju who also initiated a mobile hospital in the constituency.When he was in Class Seven, his father was transferred to Nairobi leaving the young boy at Nakuru Railway quarters by himself since he had to sit for the final primary school exams. He braved many scary nights, pulled through the exams and proceeded to Starehe Boys Centre for his secondary education. Raphael holds a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.He is the founder director of Ace Communications where he worked as a lead consultant in the design and implementation of public communication programmes for a diverse clientele including WHO in Geneva, USAid and the British government’s DfID. He was also producer and director of several documentaries, radio and TV commercials besides working as a TV news anchor in the 1980s and early 1990s.Ever versatile, Raphael is never afraid of swimming in uncharted waters. He scaled down personal business for politics.And just when things were looking up in his last appointment as an Advisor to the President on matters related to media and diversity management, he resigned to join the presidential race. Creating wealthIf elected president, his first assignment will be to formulate policies that will help the youth harness technological advancement to their benefit. Tuju says we should not use outdated methods to solve 21st Century problems. He hopes to draw on his experience in public and private practice to create wealth and help the youth access employment."The Chinese say that the best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago. The next best time is now. If we squander the current opportunity to provide good leadership for our youth, then we should not be surprised if they come waking us up from our palatial homes demanding their share of the national cake," warns Raphael."What if you wake up the day after the presidential elections and you are not the president of Kenya?" I ask him."I will respect the verdict of Kenyans and be the first one to congratulate whoever will have won. Nobody should spill a drop of blood in anyone’s defeat."He is all praise for his family, more so Mercy, his wife for 34 years, for her support when he had to make radical decisions. "Mercy was my high school sweetheart since her days at Ngandu Girls’ School in Nyeri. We cemented our friendship while we were neighbours in Nairobi West. You just need to look at our three children and see how beautiful Mercy is," says Raphael. LeisureMano, their 26-year-old first born son is a pilot while their 24-year-old fraternal twins, Yma and Alma, work and study in Australia.The Tujus like relaxing in the South Coast while Germany and Italy are favourite destinations abroad. Besides preparing githeri whose taste he acquired in Starehe, Raphael loves listening to very loud music!

Tuju: From rags to aspiring president

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