Today, 19th December 2019 marks the day former Makadara MP Dick Mwangi Wathika died.
But unknown to many, Wathika was a silent billionaire who minted billions during his three-term stint as a councillor and former Mayor.
But Wathika”s fame was not about the cash he made at City Hall.
In 1999, Wathika exchanged blows with the then Makadara MP Paul Kamau Mugeke as then DP leader Mwai Kibaki watched.
The reason for their battle stemmed from the alleged assault of Mugeke’s mother in her kiosk at Maringo.
Then, Mugeke was feuding with Wathika over the control of Nairobi politics, then controlled by the DP and veteran city Politician Maina Kamanda, Mugeke was suspicious that Wathika was being favoured by people close to Kibaki to unseat him in 2002 as Makadara MP.
Mugeke’s fear stemmed from the notion that Wathika, a native of Nyeri County was close to DP “owners” who then revolved around Kibaki.
And so Mugeke and Wathika fought a bitter and vicious battle that weakened DP to the point of losing the seat in 2002 to ODM’s Reuben Ndolo.
Wathika became the Makadara MP in 2013, but lost in a by election to Gidion Mbuvi Sonko in 2010. Mugeke has since retired.
Wathika was buried in his rural home in Mukurueni, Nyeri County in 201
