Martin Kamotho, popularly known as Githeri Man, needs urgent rehabilitation and medical attention, a drug and addiction counsellor Sgt Moses Kimenchu has said.
Sgt Kimenchu, who visited Mr Kamotho on Monday at his rental home in Kayole, Nairobi, said the man is in stage five of addiction – the habitual stage.
“The man requires urgent medical attention, mentorship and counselling before his case gets out of hand,” Sgt Kimenchu told the Nation in Murang’a.
Mr Kimenchu said he decided to look for the man after he saw photos of him “dead-drunk” on trolley circulating on online platforms.
The counsellor said he sought to understand what was happening to the man who had just graduated from a rehabilitation centre in Kiambu County.
He said he also wanted to see how he could help a fellow beneficiary of the Head of State Commendation (HSC) come out of the drinking menace.
In 2018, Githeri Man had successfully completed his rehab programme at the Mama Care Addiction and Recovery Centre under Kiambu Woman Rep Gathoni Wa Muchomba and graduated in an event that was graced by President Uhuru Kenyatta who personally awarded him a certificate.
But Mr Kimenchu, who assessed the man, said he immediately went back to drinking after graduating.
The counsellor said frustrations by various sponsors, people’s perception of him and failure to change his environment are the main factors making Githeri Man unable to quit drinking.
“Even after rehabilitation, Mr Kamotho went back to his usual living area. There was no follow up from the rehab’s management, and then the man was already frustrated by the various sponsors who had hired him to advertise their products but failed to pay him yet people perceive him as a rich man. He must have turned back to drinking to run away from criticism and questions,” Mr Kimenchu said.
According to the counsellor, Mr Kamotho needs urgent relocation to a new environment.
He also needs mentorship and empowerment skills to tackle his addiction and frustration in order to help him overcome the challenges and help other people to confront their problems.
The counsellor faulted the well-wishers who donate huge amount of money to Mr Kamotho without offering him financial guidance for him to acquire skills and knowledge on how to use the money and the resources he gets.
“Mr Kamotho, like any middle-level Kenyan, requires finance literacy skills to know how to utilise the money, especially since it was his first time to get such a huge amount of money,” he said.
Mr Kimenchu urged well-wishers to chip in and assist Githeri Man recover from persistent addiction.
He called on victims like Mr Kamotho to stop fearing police officers, saying at first, the victim was adamant in opening up fearing that Mr Kimechu would arrest or investigate him.
Mr Kamotho made headlines after he was pictured carrying githeri in a transparent polythene bag while waiting to vote during the August 2017 General Elections.
The picture catapulted him to instant fame, got a Head of State Commendation from President Kenyatta and attracted big companies who sponsored him to feature in their products.
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