Award-winning comedian, content creator, actor and scriptwriter Timothy Kimani, alias Njugush made an interesting revelation in a sit-down interview with CTA.
He shared that he joined campus with the assistance of a drunkard random man in a matatu. The former Real Housewives of Kawangware noted that he was seeking an affordable institution to join for journalism.
All efforts proved futile and Kimani had nearly given up until a drunkard unexpectedly came to his rescue.
“How I went to college is a whole different story…after I had done acting for 8 months, I was like this is dope but naah. So my dad told me I needed to get back to school,” he remembered.
“He literally was like, ‘ata mimi I didn’t drop out in form 4, so lazima uende college. So why would you?’“
After the talk with his father, young Kimani began looking for an affordable university to pursue his journalism degree, where his heart was. He visited several institutions and they were charging Sh. 100,000 per semester. Njugush did not tell his father about the fees.
“Being a firstborn, I’ve always had this mentality ‘aaah sitaki kusumbua mzae’ but I know if I had told him he would have found the resources to take me to school,” he spoke animatedly.
The last school he checked out told him they charge Sh. 110,000 per semester. Depressed by the high school fees and angling towards his breaking point, now that he knew his journalism degree was distant, he left for home.
“I was so depressed, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I remember I was in a matatu and I was seated next to a drunk person who kept on sluggishly leaning on me, which irritated me a lot. Because at first, why are you drunk during the day?” he jokingly questioned.
This drunk man would turn out to be his guardian angel. During the journey, the drunk man started a conversation with Njugush. He identified himself as his neighbour before proceeding to ask him a lot of irrelevant questions.
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“He started talking and I felt like he was stressing me even more. I was just there with my papers all depressed and I’m wondering ‘inakusumbulia nini’. So I decided I’m going to get up and switch seats,” he narrated.
“Just as I was about to, he said, ‘Have you tried KMC?'”
This question left him with more questions than answers. The only KMC he knew was the Kenya Meat Commission. As he would later come to find out, the man meant the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.
The drunk man had ties with the institution’s principal. The school would only take in 20 students per semester.
“Do this, nipatie number yako…and all of a sudden, the drunkard started making sense. I was elated, we started talking and I was like jackpot!” he laughed.
This moment, though small, was a key defining moment in Njugush’s career and life. It shaped him into the funny character and good scriptwriter we know today.
