God has in the time past saved me from many dangers, toils and snares that would have consumed me and brought me shame and disgrace. I have had real enemies in life. I have made terrible mistakes. I have many times been between the devil and the deep blue sea. Many are the times when my life would have taken a fatal turn. BUT GOD. . .
When I look back at the challenges I have surmounted, the unmerited favour of God that has brought me this far and the many second chances God has given me in this life, I dare to believe again no matter the magnitude of the challenge I am facing. We serve an awesome God who can turn our setbacks into comebacks for His own glory.
Between 2005 and mid 2007 I was broke and jobless. I was vilified by friend and foe and I frequently appeared in the media for all the wrong reasons. Every story about me in the media started with “Disgraced. . .Embattled. . .Beleaguered. . .” They were stories of faliure, shame and pain.
I was shunned by people and many are the times I would stay indoors for upto three days without stepping outside the gate of our apartment. For two years I had court battles that threatened to bring me down. The future looked bleak. BUT GOD. . .
I had been falsely accused of bungling the then Journalist of the Year Award when I served as Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ). I had raised the profile of the Union from a moribund outfit to a powerful body that was respected and revered even within Government cycles. I defended press freedom and the rights of Journalists with gusto and vigour and would sometimes be the first item on all tv channels.
The Union became rich and famous and attracted donors including some like the then British High Commissioner Sir Edward Clay who stepped on the toes of senior Government officials on corruption allegations against the Kibaki administration.
My worst mistake was allowing funding from the British High Commission for a category in the awards that would recognize investigative journalists who exposed corruption in Government. Sir Edward Clay and I held a press conference at the Stanley Hotel to announce the UK funding and during the his speech, the British High Commissioner made some serious corruption allegations against senior Government officials. My goose was cooked!
I was targetted as an enemy of the people and the media awards were sabotage by powerful individuals who were used to bring me down. So many false stories were cooked against me and no media house was allowed to run my right of reply. Some people even claimed that I stole tv sets that were meant for journalists. There’s a time my name was associated with infamy and I was an object of pity even among brethren.
To make matters worse, some journalists were funded by politicians to stage-manage a coup in KUJ and the Registrar of Societies was used to register new Union officials without any elections being held in line with the KUJ constitution. I was fighting to retain the leadership of an organization I had built from the scratch.
I was isolated, lonely and frustrated. But it’s the false stories in the media that would pop up from the blues that threatened to damage my career and future. I never thought I would ever get a job anywhere let alone with the Government.
But in one fell swoop, God restored me. He got me out of the miry clay, cleaned my past, covered my shame and raised me to a position of providence, privilege and authority. God literally wiped out my shame and fully restored me and I will for ever give Him the glory and tell of His love.
In the midst of media onslaught and attacks from powerful enemies, a celebrated Norwegian copyright guru who was visiting Kenya to scout for someone to lead an agency for fighting book piracy spotted me on tv. The gentleman was staying at the Intercontinental hotel when I appeared on tv talking about copyright issues. It was a random piece of news, that struck him as I happened to articulate the exact project he wanted to initiate in Kenya. He quickly picked my name from the tv news item and asked a young girl who was cleaning his room if she knew how he could reach me.
To date I do not know who that girl was but she was an angel sent by God to connect me with destiny. She gave such a good testimony of me, saying that I was a good man, that I was well known in the hotel and that the MD could be having my number as I frequented the facility. Sure enough the Intercon MD, a then Mr. Kitema, knew me very well and gave the Norwegian gentleman my number.
The Norwegian would treat me to a dinner in the hotel later that evening as he pleaded with me to take up a job as the Chairman of the Copyright Agency called “Kopiken” whose membership comprised of Associations such as Book publishers, Music Copyright Society of Kenya, Media Owners Association, Literary and Journalism organizations and others involved in intellectual property rights.
I would end up chairing a Board which had several notable University Professors and top Corporate leaders in the publishing industry. I would suddenly become a globe trotter attending and speaking in meetings in Europe, US, Asia and many countries in Africa. I would serve in the position with distinction until October 2007 when I was appointed Director of Information and Public Communications in the Government. The rest as they say is history.
You could be going through a tough bend in life. You could be facing shame, disappointment and pain. I encourage you not to give up. The same God who delivered me through a stranger from a far away land can deliver you today and change your situation for good.
Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning!
Source: KENYAGIST.COM