Brian Yongo: My life as a debt collector

Yongo with his wife Ann Wambui, who quit a well paying job in Dubai to marry him. They have three children.

By DAVID ODONGO

Brian Yongo does not hide the fact that he is rich. The burly man lives in a lavishly furnished 30-room house in the city’s plush Kitisuru area. The residence not only has a gym, sauna and fully stocked bar, but also houses a disco — complete with a smoke machine, DJ deck and dazzling lights.

“I use the underground disco to entertain my clients and visitors and I have all the fine whiskeys at the bar,” says Yongo.

In his parking bay sits a Range Rover Vogue and two Mercedes Benz S Class cars. Another ‘German machine’, a Mercedes C350 Luxury 2-Door Coupe that is said to change colour depending on the weather, also takes pride of place.

“A few months back, when I wanted insurance for my house and cars, ICEA, the insurance firm, valued the three Mercedes and the Range at Sh50 million. The house was valued at Sh300 million,” says Yongo.

At 42 years, he claims he is worth Sh700 million. Described as a ‘debt-collector’ in media reports, the controversial businessman rejects suggestions that he is a conman or a dirty dealmaker.

“I am hardworking, and I am also very smart. I was friends with top Asian businessmen and most of the time I was their nominee in controversial but legal business deals,” says Yongo by way of retracing his route to wealth.

He claims to have made his first million at the age of 20 years and by the time he was 22 he had an asset base of Sh30 million.

“I am not the type to blow my own trumpet, but my character and how I conduct my business depicts my lifestyle and affluence. I am the epitome of flamboyance,” says Yongo without batting an eyelid.

But how much does he pay himself in salaries from his business?

“Flamboyance can’t be pegged on a salary!” he declares. “But I employ 20 permanent staff since my businesses are mainly consultancy type. I also have three personal assistants.”

Yongo says that in 1992, alongside current Football Kenya Federation chairman Sam Nyamweya — who he describes as his mentor — he set up Kenya’s first credit management company.

“We were based at the then prestigious Viewpark Towers, and leased an entire floor to conduct our business. I later set up Neptune Credit Management,” says Yongo, who names nearly all the banks as his clients when it comes to debt collection.

He tells us he runs several other companies, including Neptune Security and Bracket holdings, dealing with facets ranging from real estate, fire services and garbage collection to procurement and construction.

“I don’t do dirty deals. I don’t do speculative ventures. My source of money has paper trail. I do contracts. All my work is document based, and above board,” says Yongo.

He gives an example of a court case involving a government agency in which he successfully initiated a payout for his clients. He expects a fee of Sh100 million for his efforts.

But it was not always this way. Yongo claims that he had been sickly in his childhood, mostly because of a heart problem. This, he says, meant he could not advance his education. But he says he has been accustomed to good things in life since childhood and cannot afford to settle for less.

“My parents had to buy a house next to Nairobi Hospital because I was always in and out of the ward,” explains Yongo, who says he attended St Christoper’s Primary School and later proceeded to Maralal High School.

Due to the nature of his business, Yongo says he has made a lot of enemies. Ever a security conscious person, he reveals he has 20 dogs that cost a fortune to feed. Interestingly, he says he does not have any friends — he only has acquaintances and business partners.

It is a curious admission coming at a time when Yongo is involved in a dogfight with lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a man perceived to be his longtime friend and who he met over two decades ago.

The battle has reached the National Assembly, the Judiciary, the State Law Office, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Law Society of Kenya, where Yongo has submitted sworn affidavits. In the documents, he questions the competence and integrity of the vocal lawyer, who is also a member of the Judicial Service Commission.

With allegations of forged pupilage documents (that cleared the way for Ahmednasir to begin practicing law) and involvement in various unethical practices, Yongo claims his dossier is meant to expose the equally controversial lawyer. In the 1990s he was a staff at Peter Simani Advocates where Ahmednasir did his pupilage.

The controversy has also opened a new battlefront by roping in flamboyant businessman Jacob Juma and Erad Supplies, a company that wants the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to pay Sh500 million for breach of contract in a deal gone sour.

Yongo says he was contracted as a debt collector for the company — and expected to be paid at least Sh25 million upon successful completion of the job — while Ahmednasir offered legal services.

However, he alleges he was short-changed by Ahmednasir and Juma. The saga, which threatens to bring down NCPB, is before a parliamentary committee.

In his affidavit, Yongo also claims Ahmednasir failed to honour an agreement on a parcel of land in Karen, which they were supposed to share.

Even though he tells us he rubs shoulders with the who is who in the political and corporate world, Yongo says he has no interest in politics.

“Why spend Sh60 million campaigning and then get paid Sh500,000 pittance as a salary?” he poses.

“After all, I’m like an MP since I’m a generous man. Every month I spend about Sh500,000 helping people. And my monthly expenditure comes to around Sh3 million,” claims Yongo.

His greatest fear is heights, and he rarely flies. This, he says, has limited his capability to expand his credit management company. He, however, says that many international clients have sought his services to help them recover debts within East Africa.

“I am tough, demanding and no-nonsense. I strictly work for 14 hours every day apart from Sundays, which I spend with my family. I am also astute,” says Yongo.

A married father of three, Yongo says he is grateful to his wife, Ann Wambui, who quit a well-paying job in Dubai to marry him.

“She has been with me through the ups and downs, and we are very happy together,” he says.

Nonetheless, Yongo was recently in the news after a woman called a press conference to claim he was harassing her and her friends. She also alleged he had falsely branded them high-end call girls.

“I am calling upon all women in Nairobi to come and assist because Brian is always targeting women thinking they are weak. I’m calling upon Nairobi Women Rep Rachael Shebesh to help protect young women from him. It is time for us to stand against him,” said Jeddy Ahao, who was in the company of former radio presenter Yolanda Mulwa. However, Yongo dismisses the claims and alleges that the woman and others had stolen a lot of money from him.

So what does the future hold for Yongo?

“At 42, I am very comfortable. Now you can go get an actuarial scientist to do some calculations and tell you what my net worth will be in 10 years, all factors remaining constant.”