Agnes Kimani, a marketing consultant in Kenya and founder of Puzzle Breakers, has ignited a heated conversation on LinkedIn after revealing how she turned down a multi-million shilling deal, simply because it wasn’t clean.

“I declined a business worth several million. Mhhhh, who does that!” she wrote, opening her now-viral post.

Sh 20 million Sacco branding deal

According to Kimani, the incident happened early last year when she received a call from a Sacco based in Kenya (whose name she chose not to reveal). The Sacco had floated a tender for a brand and marketing project valued at Sh 20 million.

But the first red flag? The caller suggested she should align herself with a kickback arrangement.

“Then, they would facilitate everything. The person smooth-talked me into how everything would be done with ease. Quite the deal, so it sounded,” she recounted.

Kimani says the plan was for her to spend a maximum of KSh 4 million on the actual project, with the remaining KSh 16 million being split among the directors and, of course, herself.

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“I would also pocket a good amount without doing much, aka using shortcuts as I tried to deliver.”

The project was no small thing, a full-scale rebranding aimed at better positioning the Sacco in the market. According to her, Sacco members had already been briefed and had fully bought into the idea, unaware of the scheme unfolding behind the scenes.

“It would bring great tidings, so they thought,” she said.

Despite the massive financial temptation, Kimani refused to play ball.

“I straight-forwardly declined the business. Someone might read this and say, Are you serious! That’s foolish! How do you leave money on the table?”

Christian values in corporate world

She admitted that earlier in life, her decision might have been different.

“Many years ago, when I was a lukewarm Christian, I would have entertained this idea and perhaps even sadly fallen for it. But the minute you choose a righteous walk, everything must change.”

And for Kimani, business is no exception.

“You resist sin and flee at its sight no matter how sweet the deal looks.”

She urged fellow professionals to uphold integrity in every space they occupy, not just in church or in personal life, but especially in business.

“Marketplace businesses honoring God are coming alive. Values aren’t for learning on Sundays and abandoning over the week.”

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Ending with a challenge to others, she asked:

“Are you staying true to your faith and values in the marketplace? Or you adjust based on convenience? This is an encouragement that it can be done! It is.”

Reactions:

Zena Maruti:  It’s not easy to walk away from that kind of money, but your stand is proof that integrity still matters even when no one’s watching.

Esther Kamande: “Marketplace Businesses honoring God are coming alive”…this right here is a statement I can back up 100000%

Serge MV Blockmans: The right decision. But then some of these crooks also go to Church and do donations in His glory. What I mean is, it’s a question of ethics and honesty, not necessarily devotion. It is one thing to profess the Christian faith, it’s another altogether to live it.

Dr. C. Namada Ouma, DBA: You have just set up yourself, your progeny and your future generations for Godly providence. Thank you for your honest message and showing that it’s possible to stand firm, even in spaces where compromise has become the norm.

Elvis warutumo: Why I no longer work with government

Kimani’s bold stand resonated deeply with many, including Elvis Warutumo, a digital creator and vocal advocate for market-ready digital skills in Kenya, who shared why he made a personal decision to cut ties with government contracts entirely.

“I’ve been approached multiple times to design websites, manage platforms, or offer training to government institutions. I always say no. And here’s why”:

Warutumo argued that money isn’t the problem in government; it’s the culture of entitlement around it.

“The problem is not that the government lacks money. The problem is that too many people in government think they are the money.”

He painted a grim picture of bloated project budgets, illustrating how a simple website, which should cost Sh 350,000, routinely gets inflated to Sh 2.5 million.

“Why?” he posed. “The CEO wants to eat. – The accountant must get his cut. – The procurement guy wants ‘appreciation.’ – The board needs sitting allowances. – The finance officer wants 50K just to look at your invoice. – Then, of course, KRA is also waiting for their share.”

But it doesn’t end there. After pitching and presenting, service providers are often left hanging.

“You pitch. You present. You wait. Three months pass. No feedback. Then they say, ‘We have another contract for you.’ It’s bait. It’s delay. It’s nonsense.”

He went on to share a personal experience where he was asked for a Sh 250,000 bribe for a website management contract worth Sh 60,000 a month over eight months.

“Let that sink in.”

Even once engaged, the working environment was chaotic.

“You do a site visit — no one shows up. You follow up, ‘the boss travelled.’ You try to deliver and now they’re asking you to type letters for them too. This is not work. This is a circus.”

He warned that such environments are demoralizing and dangerous for the next generation of honest professionals.

“And it’s why many good, young professionals are losing hope in building clean businesses.”

Warutumo didn’t mince words when calling out what he described as “tick-like” behavior, corrupt systems that reward middlemen and gatekeepers at the expense of real talent and progress.

“We are breeding corruption through systems that reward gatekeepers instead of producers. Tick-like behavior. Feeding on public funds. Choking opportunity. Delaying service delivery. Killing innovation.”

“You cannot build a functioning country when every invoice must be accompanied by ‘something small.’ You cannot digitize a nation when every website must first feed ten people before it loads. You cannot expect change when the rot is now routine. We need a reform. A reset. A purge. And until then, I’ll keep declining those calls. Because clean work deserves clean systems. And some of us would rather stay broke than be bought by filth,” he concluded.