The Rise And Fall of Jirongo: The Man Who Became Billionaire at 30 But Ended Becoming Bankrupt

Former cabinet minister Cyrus Jirongo who has passed on after being involved in grisly road accident. PHOTO | FACEBOOK

As Kenyans continues to mourn former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, his life epitomizes the sad reality about wealth and power in general.

In the 1990s to 2000s, Jirongo was one of the wealthiest Kenyans with his fortune estimated to be in tune of billions.

It is worth to note that Jirongo was a billionaire before turning 30 years.

He found himself at the heart of power play politics in Kenya as assembled a group of young men to campaign for the then President Daniel Arap Moi in 1992 amid stiff competition from the opposition.

It was during his early dealings with the powers that be that Kenya introduced Ksh. 500 banknote that came to be known as Jirongo. By all means, the Mang'u High School old boy was rich.

But two decades later, in 2017, Jirongo was declared bankrupt with multiple debts. Several of his properties were put on receivership and others auctioned.

For the man who was once considered one of the richest in the country, reality dawned on him that he was now broke.

His diminishing wealth ran in tandem with his lost political glory, having failed to win an elective seat since 2007.


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