FROM POWER TO FIRE: How Former Deputy Governor Survives By Selling Firewood
Caleb Amaswache, former Vihiga Deputy Governor, turned to a firewood dealer for survival a few years after leaving office.
In little than a decade, Amaswache has lost rank and reputation, descending from a position of honor and wealth.
Amaswache worked for Vihiga County’s first governor, Moses Akaranga, but now makes his living selling firewood in Luanda.
From 203 to 2017, he was Vihiga’s second most powerful man, and he traveled with bodyguards and chased automobiles.
Mheshimiwa mchuuzi wa kuni:
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) April 18, 2025
Aliyekuwa naibu gavana wa Vihiga auza kuni. Caleb Amaswachi anauza kuni ili kujikimu kimaisha
Amaswachi: Maisha yalikwenda mrama baada ya mamlaka#SemaNaCitizen @RashidAbdalla pic.twitter.com/eS5LGnDjuz
Fast forward to 2025, and Amaswache earns approximately Sh300 per day from his firewood business.
“I do not have enough capital. There are people who want to sell me logs, but I do not have the money,” the former Deputy Governor said in an interview with Citizen TV.
“The money I get, I split it, and pay school fees. I have a daughter set to join university, and I need Sh200,000 for a start. She has to go there.”
Everything was going well until 2017 when a new administration was elected.
Caleb Amaswache,is the former Vihiga county Deputy Governor. pic.twitter.com/vItXUgRzgR
— oyondi (@oyondi2) February 23, 2024
Dr. Wilberforce Ottichilo of the ODM defeated Akaranga and Amaswache, who stood on a PPK ticket in the August 2017 elections.
Amaswache regrets that the pals he met while at work no longer return his calls.
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“When you’re in power, everything looks flashy, everything looks good, and everybody respects you, and though they might not be genuine, they will still tell you a lot of good things,” he explained.
“But when you are out of power, that is when you will know the true colours of people who were around you.”
He advised leaders to avoid arrogance and to appreciate those who have previously held office.
“I do not see how, as a former deputy governor, I can just be walking on foot, the county government of Vihiga should give me a vehicle.”
FROM POWER TO FIRE: How Former Deputy Governor Survives By Selling Firewood
