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In an interview with The Sunday Nation, Jirongo said he was a billionaire by the age of 30. So generous was Jirongo, that at one time, after former Cabinet Minister Shariff Nassir visited him, Jirongo walked him to the car park only to discover the minister was driving an old Mercedes.
He immediately wrote a note to DT Dobie asking them to give Nassir a new car.
The Youth for Kanu 92(YK92), an outfit led by Jirongo to ensure Kanu won Kenya’s first multiparty elections, was known for liberally dishing out newly-minted Sh500 notes.
Beck then, the largest denomination in the country was the Sh200 note and the new Sh500 one was nicknamed ‘Jirongo.’
In the interview, Jirongo said the first funding of YK’92 of Sh3 million (about Sh30 million today) came from him and five other friends.
He said that the group raised about Sh300 million for their campaigns. Adjusted for inflation, this would be equivalent to Sh1.2 billion today.
“I was a billionaire by the age of 30. YK never made me, it destroyed me financially,” Jirongo said.
A wealthy man by any standard, Jirongo is associated with companies such as Sololo outlets and Cyper Projets besides developing Saika estate near Komarock/Kayole, Hazina Estate in South B and Kemri estate on Mbagathi Road.
On Monday, Commercial Court judge Olga Sewe ruled that Jirongo was bankrupt and ordered that his estate be put under receivership. Mr Jiongo was found to be unable to pay a debt running into millions of shillings.
