A young man whose photo with Muranga Women Representative Sabina Chege was mistaken for that of Wazir Benson Chacha has spoken of his tribulations since the photo went viral.
Samuel Wanjii, 22, says the photo where he appears with the Women Rep was taken last year after campaigns as he was part of Chege’s campaign team in Murang’a County where she was seeking re-election on a Jubilee Party ticket.
The photo was taken at Great North Resort in Makuyu where the youth team campaign for Chege converged to celebrate her victory.
However, after reports of a young man extorting money from MPs spread wildly, the photo begun circulating on social media and many people thought he was the extortionist.
A staunch church member and also a youth chairman in his church, Wanjii said after the photo went viral, he was condemned by his family and friends for embarrassing them.
“Some of my relatives condemned and accused me of embarrassing the family members who are God-fearing and that I needed to confess I was obsessed with sleeping with older women in exchange of money,” he told Daily Nation.
His friends taunted him asking for share of the money he allegedly extorted from the MPs.
“My friends and former classmates mocked me and asked me to part with the money from MPs.”
Some congratulated him calling him a “bull”.
He resorted to locking himself in the house the whole day because people had now nicknamed him “Chacha wa Murang’a” while others would bluntly call him a “Ben Ten”-a rude way to describe a young man in a relationship with an older woman.
When this became too much, he went to Murang’a Police Station to clear the air but this was of no much help to him. He was dismissed and told he would be arrested if investigations traced back to him.
His pain is that he lost his fiancée. Wanjii quipped that even after Chacha’s arrest, his fiancée has not spoken to him or bothered to return his call and text messages.