Former Imenti Central MP Gideon Mwiti’s wrongdoings are a testament to the bile Kenyans have lived with for years.
Mwiti was not just a politician. He was a businessman who left a bitter taste in the mouth of thousands of Kenyans who invested in his pyramid scheme.
He died on Sunday after succumbing to diabetes according to a family source.
He is the rogue figure behind the collapsed DECI – the biggest pyramid scheme in Kenya that blew up in 2003.
In their gullible nature, Kenyans invested billions into the pyramid scheme with the hope of making a fortune as they had been promised.
But it all ended in premium tears. Worse was that some families broke, many lives were thrust into poverty.
Interestingly, DECI was not the only pyramid scheme the deceased politician fleeced Kenyans with.
Together with the George Donde, they were behind the collapsed Kenya Business Community Sacco that sunk with millions of money from Kenyans seeking to invest.
Mwiti finally rested with a total of Ksh4 billion wealth portfolio from his pyramid schemes.
Besides his con artiste moves in the business world, few people describe him as a ruthless am.
One of them is journalist Gordon Opiyo who did not hesitate to narrate chilling moments 15 years ago during an interview.
Opiyo reached out to Mwiti seeking a rejoinder following numerous complaints about the Kenya Business Community Sacco.
He got an invitation to his office, and what followed remains etched in his mind.
“In 2005, when doing a story about the Kenya Business Community Sacco that had lots of complaints, I approached him for his side of the story…. And before he answered, he took a silvery pistol, wiped it and then returned to his drawer, and then asked… “uliza maswali”…. I gasped and asked very friendly questions and took off very fast,” he recalls.
Lawyer Wahome Thuku in a Facebook post, says he once met the former Imenti Central MP and quickly realized that “he was a little devil.”
“I HEAR conman Gideon Mwiti Ireri has died. This is one man who has died having taken several people through hell… One other time I met him at Angeles on Koinange Street as he explained to me about cases he was having. I realized he was a little devil; the former journalist turned teacher stated.
Besides the pyramid schemes he established and fleeced at least 200,000 Kenyans, Mwiti hit the headlines.
In March 2015, he was accused of raping a former Citizen TV journalist who had just ventured into public relations.
The incident is reported to have gone down at his Westlands office.
And despite having numerous court cases ranging from rape and defrauding, he walked all the years scot-free due to his wealth.
Pundits say he corrupted the legal process even as his victims waited for his prosecution, which never saw the light of day.