A fireband mother and Moi: Gamaliel Hassan’s escape from Kibra to CEO

There remains a certain romance to poverty for those who have escaped it. You hear it in Dr Gamaliel Hassan’s words as he goes back to his childhood in Kibra, Nairobi.

A boy with weak lungs, living in desperation but who finds the inspiration to escape (for one escapes it) by finding role models in two figures; his mother, a petite Nubian firebrand who battled against systemic injustice and, surprisingly, the late President Daniel arap Moi, a mythical figure who he recalls would drive past the slums, handing school children sweets and five shilling coins.