10 times Kenyans in the Diaspora embarrassed their mother country in 2017
As the first week of 2018 comes to an end, never to been seen again and January's hustles and bustles officially kick in, Kenyans are eager to return to their normal routines to make something out of 2018.Many are optimistic it will be a better year than the just concluded one. Some are bracing for an even tougher one marred by high cost of living.While a lot happened in the country last year -- some putting Kenyan on the spot internationally -- Kenyans in the Diaspora also had their own fair share of controversies that left the world shocked.From political protests, theft to domestic violence, some Kenyans abroad did paint a bad picture of their country and the diaspora community at large.We highlighted some of these cases that really gave Kenya a bad name internationally and hope 2018 will be a different year as Kenyans abroad finally realize, they are ambassadors of their country out there, not just foreigners.1. Helen Kaigo, 47, who was arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts and charged with stealing Sh278 million ($2.7 million) through Medicaid fraud. Prosecutors said that the Kenyan born US citizen used her health care company to file false Medicaid claims.
She was accused of routinely over-billing and falsely billing for services that were not authorised.
2. Muthaini Nzuki, 39, who is now a citizen in the US was arrested for stealing $773, 079. 35 (about KSh 75 million) from a university after masquerading as a representative of Dell Computers in order to divert the money from the University of Connecticut to her accounts.3. Kenyans fought at popular hangout joint, Maasai Grill. At first, many thought the fight was political, but after calm heads prevailed, word had it it was sparked by a heated argument that turned ugly.4. Numerous political protests abroad -- both in the US and UK -- a thing that ended diving diaspora community in 2017.5. Several cases of Kenyans being drunk and out of line were reported with the saddest one, that took over the headlines, being of Moses Mwangi who was drunk and behind the wheel of a vehicle that crashed into and killed a young couple near Dallas North Tollway.6. Another really embarrassing case was of Kisella Hillman,27, a Kenyan living in the UK, who was jailed for two years for stealing almost KSh 7 million from an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Kisella was tasked with looking after the ailing woman but somehow brainwashed her to the point of siphoning cash from her account.7. Maureen N. Cheto, 23, and Amstrong H. Otieno, 30, were arrested and fined $7000 for leaving their baby in the car to gamble. Their son was found left alone in their car in the parking lot of the Lake Charles Casino. 8. Anne Kihagi, a landlord in San Francisco, was accused of harassing 23 tenants and wrongfully evicting 10 others by using unconventional methods to frustrate among them the elderly and a cancer patient. She was fined US$2.4 million (Sh247.5 million).9. Samuel Nyaboga, 45, refused to pay rent for an apartment at Brooklyn Park and wanted to kill the landlady in the process hitting her with an axe multiple times.10. 'Violent and rowdy' James Ololo kills his wife in Belgium and ordered neighbors to call the police. Neighbours told the media that Ololo is known to engage in frequent fights with the deceased and that was contributed mostly by alcohol and infidelity.