Perhaps to save the situation, Ogutu shared with me the email address of Hon. Kenneth so that I could contact him privately. And he instructed me not to share the address with anyone, even under torture.
I sent Hon. Kenneth an email. And wow! He wrote back, inviting me to his office. On the eve of the day I was to go, I called my friend Mike to tell him who I was meeting the following day.
When the day reached, I entered a cybercafe before going to Hon. Kenneth's office, perhaps because I was anxious. I visited YouTube and listened to the wonderful old hymn "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour" whose refrain is:
Saviour, Saviour, hear my humble cry;I arrived at the building that housed Hon. Kenneth's office at around noon, feeling as timid as a mouse. Security guards cleared me before I was asked to wait for him.
While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.
Man, I felt like dozing as I sat on a sofa in the waiting room. But I did all I could to ward off the sleep, for I feared the security guards would rebuke me if they saw me dozing. It was noontime, you know!
Hon. Kenneth finally came, and I went to meet him in his office. And nothing magical happened; we just had the kind of chat people have in cafes.
Well, he asked me why I was getting into politics and whether I knew Peter Munene. I can't remember the reason I gave for getting into politics but I did tell him Munene was the councilor of my home area.
Possibly as a parting shot, he advised me to visit churches when campaigning. He was such a God-fearing man, a rarity in politics if the field is as dirty as it is said to be. And that, my beloved reader, was how I met a VIP.
********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "More Than Just a Meeting".
