Mr Nyenze had just won the Kitui West parliamentary seat and the then young Administration police constable was picked as one of his security aides.

Like hundreds of police officers attached to members of parliament as bodyguards, Mr Mbai’s daily routine included escorting Mr Nyenze from his residence to Parliament and to his various engagements as a cabinet minister.

The job involves accompanying one’s subject wherever he goes including public meetings, and spending long hours idling in cars as the leaders engage in debating chamber or close door meetings, sometimes late into the night.

However, beyond the call of duty and unknown to many, Mr Mbai who was yesterday declared the MP elect for Kitui East constituency had a burning desire to emulate his boss by joining the hallowed corridors of the National Assembly as elected member.

The allure of power and privilege that comes with being an elected MP must have fuelled the ambition of the man who grew up herding goats in remote and windswept Zombe area in Kitui County to join elective politics.

Political debut

And with his successful political debut, Mr Mbai will now join the man whom he used to provide sentry duties from 1998 to 2002 as equals, after both were elected members of 12th parliament.

Mr Mbai won on Jubilee ticket in a region dominated by the Wiper party beating the incumbent MP a retired military officer Major (rtd) Marcus Mutua Muluvi by a wide margin.

He garnered 14,256 votes against his closest rival Militonic Kitute of Narc party who got 10899 votes. Major Muluvi of Wiper party came a distant fourth with 5436 votes.

After Mr Nyenze lost in the 2002 elections, Mr Mbai was redeployed to provide the same security services to Dr Alfred Mutua after he was appointed the Government spokesman.

He served as Dr Mutua’s bodyguard and trusted aide for close to ten years until he quit government service to contest the Machakos governorship.

In 2013, Mr Mbai resigned from the police service paving way for Dr Mutua to appoint him as one of his chief officers – a senior rank in county government which is equivalent to principal secretary in national government.

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Source: nation.co.ke

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