A Billionaire Chandaria’s photographer narrates how he became a mask hawker
Robert Muthee was among the elite and lived an extravagant and lavish lifestyle. He wined and dined with prominent people and didn’t have a problem with spending millions for a great party.
At that time, Muthee was a business tycoon; he was Manu Chandaria’s photographer. Muthee was pocketing 25,000 per hour to cover his 50th wedding anniversary. In a day he could easily get half a million.
Today Muthee hawks masks for a living. All the massive wealth he acquired evaporated. He is broke and annoyed at how fast he moved from grace to grass. The 49-year-old had a successful venture in photography. He used to cover presidential events and was pocketing a handsome amount.
“I used to do video shooting and photography. I had my standard charges, depending on the package. Manu Chandaria used to pay me handsomely, Sh 25,000 per hour. It was a lot of money. I met him through a referral from the Indian community in Thika since I was the one who covered all their events, from weddings, birthday parties and entertainment gigs,” stated Robert
Robert Muthee became famous after working with all the three presidents.
“I landed my first job in 1994 at Bidco Oil Refineries as a casual worker in the packaging department. I worked there until 1998 and later ventured into the photography business. For a few years, I had many clients. I used to meet former President Moi during graduation ceremonies at the University of Nairobi. We quickly formed a rapport and he used to invite me to attend some of his events. I was the official photographer during former President Kibaki’s inauguration ceremony at Uhuru Park. I have also covered President Uhuru Kenyatta’s events when he visits Thika,” he stated.
He disclosed that his desire for a good life, drove him into borrowing money from shylocks to maintain his lifestyle.
“I bought expensive cars that I couldn’t maintain. I borrowed money from shylocks to go for holidays and attend exquisite hotels, just to keep up with the fame. Little did I know I was living on borrowed time,” he stated.
Muthee joined a Brazil based pyramid scheme which promised huge and quick returns in 2018 and that was the beginning of his downfall.
“I joined an online business, which was a pyramid scheme based in Brazil. During the first years, I made a lot of money and even recruited some of my family members and friends. I had invested all my savings in the business. From the profits that I made, I used the money to pay for holidays. However, the pyramid scheme collapsed and I lost all my money. I had debts running into Sh2 million. I was haunted by the people who I had introduced to the scheme since they believed I was a con,” he stated.
After the frustrating ordeal, Muthee sought help from a Pastor to pray for him since he thought he had been bewitched.
“At some point, I worked at a car wash. Life was really hard. Bishops and pastors prayed for me since I believed I was bewitched. I had reached a point where most people would kill themselves, but I chose to accept my situation. I have started selling masks in Thika to support my family,” he stated.
Robert Muthee said he learnt from his mistakes and advised youngsters to save and not live a life they can’t put up with.
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