Meet Japh, the snazzy dresser...

Thirty years is how long Japh Olende has worked for the American subsidiary, Chartis Kenya.

He’s worked in virtually all the departments of the company, starting out as a management trainee in the finance department to his current position as MD.

He was there when the company was Alico Kenya, when it rebranded to AIG Kenya, and now he’s at the high table as the chief. He knows how every cog of the company turns.

I interviewed him in 2009 and three years later, the one thing that seems to have remained a constant is his hairpin sense of style. Japh, an impeccable dresser, admits to taking extra care on how he dresses, and it shows when we meet for this interview.

Behind him, on a coat rack, hangs a snazzy jacket from which a golden handkerchief sticks out of the breast pocket, it matches his gold-stripped tie. From his wrist and fingers, gleams gold jewellery.

Expensive cologne hangs in the air.

At the turn of the century, a neologism was introduced by the fashion aficionados; metrosexual. Are you acquainted with that word, Japh?
(Amused) No. I’m afraid not.

It basically means a man who goes beyond just taking a bath and combing his hair. We are talking pedicures, massages and what not. I submit that you are that man.

(Laughs) Okay. Good clothes are my weakness. I just don’t dress up for the sake of it; I take my time picking my clothes. My being smart is a natural thing; I won many awards throughout my schooling days as the best-dressed student.

How long do you take to dress up?

I take a while, an hour maybe? I hate to rush through dressing up, I use some of my dressing and shaving time to think. Business ideas come from those moments. There is a joke at the club that I take too long showering after playing around of golf, I find people well into their drinks by the time I join them.

Where do you shop?
I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought anything locally. I buy all my clothes abroad; the States is a great place to buy shoes.
You must spend a lot on clothes.

I love good suits; I spend a lot on those.

I have maybe 10 good regular ones. I like to match my suits with my socks, shoes and belts. But I also spend a lot on family, to make them happy. Family is big. I also have charities I’m supporting, some three schools I support in my village. I pay school fees for my relatives’ orphaned children . So you see, it doesn’t all end in suits (smiles).

What are your other interests away from this desk?
I’m a sugarcane farmer and I also do some fish farming in Kusa, Nyakach. My home is about five-minutes walk from Lake Victoria (smiles).

You have two boys and one girl, all “old people now” to quote you. What is the one piece of advice you would give young dads like us?

Make time for your kids. Ask how they are doing; be involved in their lives. Parenting goes further than just signing their homework books at the end of the day.

Where would one find you on a Friday evening?

Actually, you would find me out. Family and other engagements take most weekends. I prefer to hang out in clubs; Muthaiga or Parklands. If not, you will find me in Sankara or Soho’s in Westlands.

And what drink will you have in your hand?
Red wine, but gone slow on that lately. Or double gin, or whiskey. I drink only what I enjoy, but I draw the line on cold drinks.

Word on the grapevine is that you are quite a dancer. What’s your kind of music?

(Laughs) I’m not as agile as I used to be, but yes, I can dance, I won many dancing competitions during my time.

I like Congolese music, rock and classic, jazz when I’m relaxing at home. I took to Luo music late in life, maybe it’s because I’m getting old and home is gold.

So where would you go dancing in Nairobi?

I dance at parties, if at all, like I said, this age thing. But as you grow older, the options for places also go because security is always an issue.

There might be a great place to dance to Congolese music in, say Umoja, or along Langata road, but you are always questioning your security in those places, so I normally pass.

What does a suave guy like you drive?

A BMW X5.

But what car would you prefer to be driving?

A BMW X5 (Laughter in the room)

Who is the one person you would love to have dinner with? And please don’t say Nelson Mandela.
(Chuckles) Barack Obama.

What is your flaw, not as an MD, but as a man?

My flaws, hmmm...I don’t know. Human beings are never forthcoming about their limitations. But I think I’m loud and impatient. I also never give people time to finish what they are saying.

Out of curiosity. You have worked here for 30 years weren’t you, at any point, curious as to what lay outside?

I was never given a chance to be curious. I was constantly challenged every couple of years by being given a different role and responsibility.

Leave us with a Congolese track, come on, a song to remember you by.

(Laughs hard) Thing is I know many songs, but I don’t know their title. But try any song by Bavon Marie-Marie, he was Franco’s half brother, he sang a song about Franco stealing his girlfriend.