Ababu 'Smart' likes to have his shoes shined, but it shouldn't be at taxpayers' expense

Sports CS Ababu Namweamba when he met Dickson Loyerer who volunteered to clean his muddy shoes after a tree-planting session. [Courtesy, Twitter]

Youth, Sports and Arts Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, is in the limelight, as he loves it. He had gone planting trees at the National Youth Service (NYS) in Nairobi, when one officer, Dickson Loyerer, saw his shoes muddied and decided to wipe them clean.

Namwamba's offer to tip Loyerer was rebuffed by his bosses, which is strange, as one hairdresser who groomed a previous minister claimed to have received tips by sack-loads. So much money did she have, she kept most under the bed, as it couldn't fit in bank vaults, especially since banks tend to ask to know the source of cash.

Anyway, the attendant who cleaned Namwamba's shoes was rewarded with a cup of tea, served by Namwamba himself, when he was invited to his office, a day later.

Poor guy! Even before he sat down, he was bombarded with so many questions, all he could do was to awkwardly balance a cup while he was still standing. And the whole circus was filmed. To be fair to Namwamba, he so loves filming, he used to record his holidays on world beaches. I wonder if he's still filming, for I no longer keep up with his theatrics.

See, I long gave up on Namwamba's dramatic ways when he declined to swear under oath, as a new MP, to serve former Prezzo Mwai Kibaki, in the aftermath of the disputed 2007 polls.

Instead, he swore to serve former PM Tinga as his "president." But when Tinga ran for President early in the year, it was equally dramatic to watch Namwamba campaign against Tinga's presidency. So it's safe to say his theatrics do not mean much, beyond entertainment value.

But I could be wrong; I hear Loyerer has been offered a job at Namwamba's office, although the specifics are yet to be known. I hope it's not about polishing Namwamba's shoes. Namwamba's other name, after all, is "Ababu Smart."