Umoja Estate, Nairobi has been the center of media attention over the past few days.
Michael Njogo Gitonga, the man who has a striking resemblance to Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta lives in Umoja estate.
He spoke to Inooro TV , of his woes after his photos went viral on social media.
“People around Umoja know me as Uhuru or better yet Uhunye. Sometimes, I am also surprised at how much me and the president look-alike.
The photos were taken and uploaded by his Gym Instructor Joe Matheri, and in fact, most thought that Michael Njogo Gitonga’s photos were old pictures of the commander-in-chief, probably before his first term as president in 2013.
“I realised I was close to someone who looked like the president and decided to take a photo with him but as soon as I posted him, I got calls from so many people, most asking which year I had taken the photos with the president,” Matheri stated.
‘Uhunye’s’ woes’
The fame has brought ‘trouble’ for ‘Uhunye’ of Umoja Estate.
Michael Njogo Gitonga said, people have been asking him for money.
“Sometimes, I meet people who tell me that they have not had anything to eat and being ‘Uhunye’, I have to give them some money. In fact, that name has really made me suffer,” Njogu told Inooro FM.
On his relations with the president
He narrated that he was not sure if there were any relations between him and the first family, adding that he had never met them. However, he added that if given a chance to meet the president, he would seek to know if he was related with him in any kind of way.
Nonetheless, he accepts that his mother worked in Gatundu as security officer, and that was long time ago.
When Matheri first uploaded the photos, some people thought they were work of photoshop.
Coping with Covid-19
Njogu used to own a pub in Umoja, however, the economic slowdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic forced Njogo to close it.
The president’s directive on 27th July 2020 where he declared that there would be no sell of alcohol for 30 days was the last nail on the coffin.
“I was okay financially but when the pandemic struck, so many things changed. I even had to move from my previous house and into a small one,” he stated.
Njogo, however, stated that he did not want to use his resemblance to the president as a way to reap where he had not planted.
“In a population of over 7 billion, there are probably more lookalikes in the world than have been discovered’, scientists estimate.
VIDEO: Michael Njogo Gitonga’s interview with Inooro TV
Uhunye wa umo!
Posted by Farqan Hassan Farqana on Saturday, 8 August 2020
