Sam Mwai’s second career season after retirement

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Sam Mwai’s second career season after retirement

Friday July 07 2023

Sam Mwai, the CEO of Maiyan Luxury Resort in Nanyuki during an interview at his residential home in Runda, Nairobi on June 24, 2023. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG

What do you do after years of swashbuckling as a manager for a popular restaurant and discotheque in Nairobi’s heydays?

After five years as CEO of the Sports Stadia Management Board, then 10 years as General Manager of Karen Country Club. And a stint on the board of Mathare United, playing golf and chairing The Kenya Golf Union? You retire. That’s what you do.

You retire and wake up bewildered daily at 7am when the sun is already a toddler. You read books, take walks with your wife, and maybe bounce a grandchild on your lap.

If you are Sam Mwai, you will get restless quickly because you are not the kind of animal that retires. And so when a phone call comes, you take up a job as the CEO Of Maiyan Luxury Resort in Nanyuki. And you are back in the grind, only this time at your own pace.

Besides, if you come out of retirement, you figure, do something you believe in. You still walk with your wife and bounce a grandchild on your lap.

How is retirement treating you?

For the generation before mine, people retired because they were tired. But for us, now, we retire because it’s the season, because we have reached retirement age.

When my time came, I was not ready to retire. Being an active guy, I found it hard to just sit around doing nothing. So when the opportunity to come out of retirement came, I seized it.

What made you come out, and how long had you retired?

(Chuckles) I stayed retired for a year and a quarter, perhaps. And then my friend James Mworia called me and said, we need to do something about our hotel business up in Nanyuki, and I think you can help us.

I told him, “James, I’m retired.” He said, “No, you cannot retire.” And it was quite interesting because when he was setting up the business, we had discussions about what he would be doing, so he told me, “You were there in the beginning, so come, let’s make this happen.” So that’s how I came out of retirement.

How do you describe that year of retirement?

It was interesting waking up at 7am, sometimes going for a walk, sometimes just doing nothing, reading a book… I read many novels during that time.

I did a beautiful consultancy. I didn’t play golf much because I played regularly with my friends for the last 10-12 years.

I found a more leisurely activity, but it was not challenging my mind. Another big challenge is that you don’t have enough to do when you retire.

Which season of your career did you have the most fun and learn the most?

Interesting question, because I worked in a group called Trattoria, you know Trattoria Restaurant? And Visions Discotheque? I think that was probably the best season of my career life.

That was during the mid to late 80s and early 90s. We did interesting things. We started with one restaurant, then another, and a discotheque, which we refurbished yearly.

It was exciting getting involved in that space and seeing it grow. I was the guy walking around with a booklet with complementaries in my breast pocket, handing them out.

I was quite popular. (Chuckle). That was an interesting time. I guess it’s what sort of formed my interest in hospitality. I learned that bit of business and then worked for the Sports Stadia Management Board from 2003 to 2009, a different kind of learning.

It was fascinating because I had never been involved in government. But there I was, sitting with ministers, the President, and officials of international organisations such as the IAAF, and FIFA.

I think I worked under five ministers, and each of their Permanent Secretary was different. So there were lots of challenges during that period. And then the 10 years at Karen Country Club as General Manager were another learning curve.

I dealt with members who deal with diverse stakeholders in their professions. In private business, you never meet your shareholders. But in the golf business, you meet them every day.

And if you have an altercation, you can’t tell them not to come back. Tomorrow they’ll be back in your face because they own the club, so you must learn how to deal with that.

What’s been your most troublesome decade in life?

The government one, 2003 to 2009. It was difficult because, on the one hand, we had good plans and strategies for becoming self-sufficient and raising money for the stadiums and sports in general.

But we kept meeting ministers and politicians who felt otherwise.

What did you learn about human beings in the 10 years you were at Karen Country Club?

On record? (Laughter) Human beings are fascinating. (Pause). I dealt with those who couldn’t believe an African could be the General Manager.

There were others with fragile egos, so I needed to find a way to go around that. There were also very supportive members. I think I was well-known to the members when I was leaving the club. Some of them became my friends.

I’ve actually been a member of the club since 1987. So it helped me that I was a member dealing with fellow members instead of somebody who had come from outside.

What ambitions did you have as a child?

Driving cars. (Laughter). No, really. We lived in Mariakani, South B, and as children, we’d make our own toy cars during the rally season and race each other.

One of my neighbours, David Ndambo, was a rally driver, and my father was also involved in the rally organisation at the time. So, of course, I wanted to be a rally driver at some point in my life. I never made any steps toward that.

There was also a phase, of course, when I wanted to be an airline pilot. I had no ambition to be a lawyer or a doctor or anything like that. No, I’ve always been an action guy.

Are you surprised you’re here, that you’ve lived this life?

No. I have been fortunate. I’ve never been admitted to a hospital. My healthcare is limited to the usual blood pressure check-ups and treatment for minor ailments. I’ve been in good health.

I think I’m going live for a very long time. My grandfather lived to almost 100, as did my grandmother. My father lived to 87. I don’t know how I’ll look when I’m 87.

How old are you now?

Sixty-four. Still young. The downside of living for so long is burying everybody you love. In fact, in the last few years, we’ve lost lots of good friends, especially to Covid-19.

That was really bad. I wasn’t scared of dying [during the pandemic] because I believe that my glass is never half empty.

But I was pretty devastated when I lost a couple of friends to Covid. These were guys I thought would live forever.

Does that shake your own sense of mortality?

In a sense, it does. When you look at the big picture, yes. But I still have that confidence that it’s not my turn.

Where do you get the confidence from?

I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t tell you. (Chuckle) I’ve always been positive in life. I guess I’m as spiritual as the next person, but I believe God is on my side because I can’t explain some of the things that have happened in my life.

What’s been the biggest event you’ve surmounted in your life?

When we lost our first child. There was a problem during the delivery; of course, we were extremely devastated. We had been married for only a year when we lost the child.

The question was, is this what’s going to happen to us? Are we never going to have children? I told my wife, “No, come on. That has happened, but we must continue to try”. We wanted to have children, and so we did.

I think the faith there led us not to give up. We knew other people in similar situations, and it took them very long to have children. It’s almost like they didn’t believe they’d be able to have them.

When you get a child, after you’ve lost a child, do you live in great fear?

Yes, yes, yes. For the first year, definitely. But this child that we got next was just an amazing child. She was talking and walking and running before she was a year old.

She made us forget that we ever had any problems in the past. She has continued to be like that.

How old is she now?

I doubt she will be pleased when I mention her age in the newspaper. [Laughter]. So we should just say that she’s an adult. (Laughing) Yes, I think that’s safe for all of us.

Do you still think about that child, the one that you lost?

I do. I think about her. It was a girl. She had a full head of hair because she wasn’t a stillborn. (Pause) She was breathing and everything. But the labour took so long because doctors insisted on a natural delivery.

So by the time she was born, her lungs didn’t open fully. She was taken into an incubator and died the following day. But she had a full head of hair…when our second born was born, she didn’t have hair. (Chuckles).

The first one took all the hair, but she eventually grew her hair. But yes, I always see her. I have that image of her. We buried her at my parent’s home, and whenever I go to visit my father’s and my brother’s graves, I visit her.

It’s still hard sometimes, I suppose? We got over it….we got over it. And because we were blessed with two wonderful children after that, we don’t have time to reminisce, to feel bad. We love the ones we have and the one we lost, of course.

You are a grandfather now.

Yes, I am, to a wonderful little girl. She will be a year old in September.

Can you believe that you are a man with a grandchild?

No. (Chuckle) I didn’t expect a grandchild so soon, but then again, my son – my last born – and his wife-to-be are about to get married.

They’ve been together for more than 12 years, so it was inevitable that they would start a family at some point.

I’m sure you can tell me his age.

[Laughter] He’s 32.

So you started quite early?

Yes, I did. I was the first among my friends to get married.

Why?

Because I was ready.

How did you know you were ready?

I just felt it. I had been with my girlfriend, now my wife, for many years before that. She was behind me in university, and we became friends then.

It hit me that I would leave her behind when I graduated. I knew I was ready for marriage. In fact, the first question my father asked me when I went to tell them that I wanted to get married at 26 was, “Are you sure you have finished [done with] being a bachelor?”

I told him, “Yes.” Then he asked the second question, “Is there any hurry?” (Laughs) To, mean, you know? (Makes a pregnancy impression) So I said, “No. No hurry.” And so we went through the whole traditional process over time. It’s going to be 38 years this August.

Of course, you’re in a position to give marriage advice based on your experience.

No. Not at all! (Loud Laughter). But I think the biggest thing in marriage – and I must confess I have not been the best at it – is communication.

Whatever the issues, you must communicate with your spouse. Otherwise, you guys will simply be two people going in different directions while living under the same roof.

Which season of marriage did you find to be very difficult?

When my children started going to school. There were a lot of decisions to be made, and we had to make the right one because that was someone’s future in our hands.

Had we planned sufficiently? I had an insurance policy that I had taken out for school fees, and it was meant to cater to my daughter when she was born.

When the payout came, I thought, “Wow, yeah, fantastic, school fees for one term.” (Laughter)  I never took another insurance policy after that. It was a scam.

So at that time, we were worrying about fees and the mortgage we were paying with interest rates going through the roof. It was a very stressful period. My mid-30s and early 40s were pretty rough.

How has been your relationship with money?

Love and hate. I’ve never had enough money to do the things I want to do, but it’s never worn me down. I think I’ve been able to do what I need to be comfortable for myself and my wife.

We have a home. We have cars. We have some small investments, we have taken our children through school, and they have Master’s degrees.

When they were acquiring their first cars, we helped them partially. So I think we are good to go.

What dreams do you have now?

To remain healthy and active. Before going down to Nanyuki for work, I’d walk with my wife, her sisters, and brothers-in-law because we live in the same neighbourhood.

I bought a bicycle, so I cycle. I haven’t cycled as much as I’d like because Nanyuki is beautiful. I intend to take it up again there. I read thriller and action books.

I’m not into reading motivational books or things like those. I want to continue reading, be active, and be free to consult with anybody who needs to.

What’s your flaw, then?

Procrastination. It’s real. And I’ve not been able to get around that. My wife might also tell you I give too much and don’t do anything for myself.

She reminds me that when you look around, people are in jobs and yet have three or four side hustles. So she says, you have a job, but you immerse yourself 100 percent into that job and forget to do something else.

I keep telling her that now it’s too late. She says, “No, it’s never too late. Looking for something to do in Nanyuki.” Maybe we can rent the farm next door and start growing tomatoes as a side hustle.

So I guess those would be my flaws. And I also don’t suffer fools. (Chuckles)

On a scale of one to 10, how happy are you now, today, right now, this hour?

Nine.

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