For Kamanu, life changed dramatically when he lost his parents in a tragic road accident while he was still a child.
The devastating loss not only robbed him of the people he depended on but also plunged his life into uncertainty. With no strong support system to fall back on, Kamanu was forced to abandon his education while still in Class Seven and enter the harsh world of survival.
Years later, he would find himself behind bars, serving time for robbery with violence—a crime he says was born out of desperation, poor choices and the difficult circumstances surrounding his life.
Kamanu, from Murang’a County, recently opened up about his painful journey while appearing on a platform hosted by a renowned content creator.
His story is one of loss, desperation, crime, betrayal, prison and ultimately, a determination to start again.
After dropping out of school, Kamanu began looking for casual jobs to survive. However, the opportunities were unreliable.
According to him, whenever he managed to secure employment, it rarely lasted long. One job would end, and he would be forced to start searching for another.
With each passing day, the pressure mounted.
Eventually, Kamanu met a woman and the two started a family. Becoming a partner and provider brought even greater responsibilities, yet his financial situation remained unstable.
Then came the night that would completely change the direction of his life.
Kamanu recalled that at around 3am, he was walking home with three friends when they encountered a man along the way.
The four attacked and robbed him of KSh6,000.
After sharing the money among themselves, Kamanu went home with KSh1,700.
He probably thought the incident was over.
It wasn’t.
The following day, police officers came looking for him.
Kamanu said he was the only one among the four friends who was arrested.
He was taken to the police station and asked to return the stolen money. However, he could not raise the entire amount.
He pleaded with the officers to allow him to repay it in instalments, but his request was unsuccessful.
Instead, he was locked up and eventually faced charges of robbery with violence.
The situation became even more painful when his friends visited him at the police station.
Rather than standing by him, Kamanu says they encouraged him to take responsibility alone.
«“The following day my friends came to check on me at the station. They told me to carry the cross alone and not to mention them to the police,” he recalled painfully.»
Kamanu was later taken to court, where he pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was initially placed on probation before eventually being sentenced to two years in prison.
Behind the prison walls, his life became even more difficult.
He described prison as “hell”, recalling the small portions of food, hard labour, cold and congested sleeping quarters and difficult relationships among inmates.
Every day became a struggle to survive.
But after completing his sentence, Kamanu finally walked out of prison believing he was returning to a fresh start.
Instead, another painful surprise awaited him.
When he arrived home, he discovered that his house had been broken into.
Nearly everything he owned had been stolen.
After losing his parents as a child, dropping out of school, struggling to find work, going to prison and finally completing his sentence, Kamanu had returned to find himself with virtually nothing.
He had no comfortable place to sleep and was once again forced to rebuild his life from scratch.
Today, Kamanu works as a matatu conductor and takes on whatever honest jobs he can find to put food on the table.
His circumstances may still be difficult, but he insists that he has changed.
Rather than hiding from his past, he now uses his experience as a warning to young people who may be tempted to turn to crime because of poverty, peer pressure or desperation.
Kamanu’s story is a painful reminder that one desperate decision can have consequences that stretch far beyond a single night.
The KSh1,700 he received from the robbery may have disappeared quickly, but the consequences followed him for years.
Now, as he works to rebuild his life, Kamanu says he wants young people to learn from his mistakes before they find themselves paying a much heavier price.
His journey may have been marked by tragedy and poor choices, but his determination to live differently offers one important lesson: a person’s worst chapter does not necessarily have to be the end of their story.
