The two-bedroom fully furnished house has now been awarded to a single father of six children, three of them physically challenged/CFM NEWS
NAKURU, Kenya, Feb 25 – The controversial house built for the family of a boy who wowed President Uhuru Kenyatta with a poem has been given to another family.
The two-bedroom fully furnished house has now been awarded to a single father of six children, three of them who are physically challenged.
Charles Macharia Gachie had been living in a makeshift shelter at a church compound in Nakuru’s Teachers Estate until Sunday when he was given a pleasant surprise by the Regional Administration led by Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Mongo Chimwanga.
The house has been trending after the mother of Dennis Ngaruiya went to the media claiming it was substandard and not fit to be a presidential gift.
She declined to occupy the house which has been ready for the past three years, prompting the benefactors to look for another vulnerable family from the area.
“This is a quality house built by well-wishers and not the President,” clarified Chimwanga.
He said a well-wisher bought the plot at Sh650,000 while another two benefactors constructed it at slightly lower than Sh1 million.
The RC said buying land and constructing a house was not part of the deal between President Kenyatta and Ngaruiya’s family.
“The President only promised a scholarship for the boy and job for the mother which were all honoured,” said the administrator.
He added that Ngaruiya’s mother, Damaris Wambui was given a job in Bahati by the Nakuru County Government but she declined on claims that it was far.
Chimwanga said the house will be redesigned to make provisions for the physically challenged children who include a pre-teen who is on a wheelchair.
“The house was hurriedly constructed for Ngaruiya and his family after the benefactors realised that they were living in a congested rented house and it has to be redesigned to accommodate the new family,” he said.
Chimwanga who was accompanied by Nakuru County Commissioner, Bahati Assistant County Commissioner and the local administrators said elders from the area were asked to pick a vulnerable family to occupy the house after the initial beneficiary declined it.
“About 10 needy families were picked and vetted by the elders together with the area chief and Gachie’s family emerged to be the most deserving,” said Chimwanga.
The present was kept a secret for Gachie and his family who was simply told that the church service would be held at the venue only to be surprised when the Regional Coordinator announced them as the new beneficiary
In 2014, Ngaruiya won President Kenyatta;s heart with his presentation during the Kenya Defence Forces Day Celebrations at 3KR Barracks in Lanet, Nakuru.
Kenyatta greeted him immediately at the presentation of a poem titled “Our Father” and promised to invite him to State House which he did.
Ngaruiya’s fortunes took an upward trajectory when the President offered him a full scholarship and a job for his mother.
The boy is a student at the prestigious Menengai High School in Nakuru and his education will be catered fully to the highest level.
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