Is Mr Moneybags Steve Mbogo down and out after losing petition to Jaguar?

Suave: Politician and businessman Steve Mbogo. [Photo: Courtesy]

According to his social media posts at the garage of his ritzy Karen home, you will see a Porsche Carerra and a Rolls Royce Phantom.

When it’s muddy outside the home nestled on a five-acre piece of land for which he says he coughed out Sh500million, the car of choice would be one of his three Toyota Land-Cruiser VXs. Very thirsty but highly dependable 4X4s.

The red Porsche Carerra sitting at Steve Mbogo’s Karen home. [Photo: Courtesy]

Hold on, we are not yet through with his wheels. The unquestionably suave Steve prides himself as “the ultimate Mercedes Benz collector.” Four of them; the oldest being an E-Class and an S-500 that he forked Sh13m for.

Steve Mbogo, 31, is the man the High Court on  today slapped with a Sh10m costs bill after he lost an election petition against a fellow car collector of equal stature in the name of Charles Kanyi alias Jaguar. Jaguar being an anglicised edition of his Kikuyu name Njagua and also a top of-the-range British marque.

They say you can tell the depth of a man’s pockets by the car he drives or the brand of his shoes.Steve follows this rule to the thumb.

“My shoes are Louis Vuitton. I bought them for $2,000 (Sh200, 000),” he told The Nairobian two months ago.

Losing the election petition was definitely a slap in the face for Mbogo, who is now forced to pay Sh10m in costs.

But for a man who claims that his networth is way above a billion shillings, what is Sh10 million ? A slap on the wrist maybe?

For Steve, he has undoubtedly risen through the social preneurship and political ranks to become a monied celebrity.

Steve has attributed his success to early exposure to entrepreneurship, adding that he and money have been best friends for more than a decade.

“I made my first million at 18, selling scrap metal,” said Steve in an Interview with the Nairobian.

Spotlight on Steve Mbogo, a political activist and businessman. [Photo: Courtesy]

Businesses

Steve owns and chairs Capital Flow Enterprises Company, a diversified firm with approximately $130 million in revenues, according to one website but we could not independently verify this information.  

The website further reports that he owns the Della Wine Estate and took part in the development of the Mimosa Golf Club.  Steve Mbogo is also associated with 4-star Hotels across Kenya, six Nightclubs in Nakuru, Kisumu and Nairobi.

Controversies

However, controversies seem to follow him or at least, he follows them…quiet literally.

Over two months ago, concerns were raised by the Karen Residents District Association that his chopper was ruining their sleep in ungodly hours a, a claim the politician downplayed.  

Large scale gold trading website, Zengold.com, once mentioned him in unflattering terms.

Last month, he, alongside two other suspects were arraigned in court in connection with a gold deal in which a Dubai-based businessman avers he lost $1,000,000, an equivalent of Sh102.5 million.