For 37-year old Stephanie Wambui Mbote, life has never been the same again following her viral photos standing next to NASA Chief Raila Odinga in Zanzibar.
The middle-aged tour guide has been the subject of debate within Kenyans social circles.
Stephanie ill-timely uploaded a photo standing next to Raila at an undisclosed location in Zanzibar.
She was shoe-less and her arms wrapped around Raila’s waist. The look in one word was “cosy”.
But she was trolled greatly with many of the comments hitting her below the belt. She was branded a gold digger.
Since the photo went viral, her days have turned to be agonizing.
In an interview with the Standard on Saturday, she said: “They were all lies. I was cyber bullied for a very innocent photo. Nobody believed me when I explained how I got to be in Raila’s photo.”
She did not hesitate narrating how she met Raila and ended up taking a photo with him.
“I was in a hotel, and I saw someone resembling Raila. I shouted: Baba! and he turned. I was so excited that I found myself running to hug him.”
She requested for a photo with him and he obliged. One of Raila’s friends took the photo.
“There is nothing more. I asked for a photo, and I was so excited that he obliged.”
For Stephanie, she believed sharing her photo with Raila would show Kenyans how much she has grown in her business. The opposite happened.
Her sister Irene Muringe said after the photo went viral, her family was threatened by NASA supporters telling them that if anything happened to him [Raila], they would shoulder the blame.
“I cannot believe that a single photo almost brought down everything I have worked for. I am just a woman who beat all odds to be where I am now,” she added.
Stephanie according to her sister loves publicity. “I was not surprised to see her hugging Raila. That was the kind of life she enjoyed when we were growing up. She loved publicity.”
But, Stephanie noted she does not regret that moment; she has no regrets taking the photo with Raila.
“I don’t regret putting up that photo. I have not pulled it down even after hundreds of people called to request that I do. I am not ashamed of anything.”