CABU GAH DIARIES: No,Jeff Koinange,Maurice Odumbe Is Not Our Responsibility. He Spent His Millions Without Us. He Can Work Through His Troubles Without Us Too.

Well,Maurice Odumbe fell from grace. And now we are all supposed to stop what we are doing and lift him up to his previous lasciverous lifestyle. Excuse Me,But count me out. I didn’t enjoy the millions. I am not expected to chip in my shillings.

After Maurice Odumbe,famous cricketer who has now fallen from grace,was discovered living like a mendicant in the austere streets of Nairobi,by his friend Robert Burale,his story was now pushed onto our noses and buttressed by popular TV host Jeff Koinange in a bid to rally the masses and agitate for his restoration. Good move.

What I have a problem with,however,is that we are now been called upon to restore and restructure a Man who lived like a King and blew money with the speed of A Saudi Car chase. Just because,well,he is a hero. Hmmm,Naaaah.

Maurice was a cricketer…Legendary one at that. He played in great stadiums and brought home many awards(When??) and therefore,he,like Rally ace Peter Njiru and track legend Kipchoge Keino,is a hero. Well,thats agreed.

What brought down Maurice,however,was not that he suddenly had an accident that effectively ended his lucrative career. Or that he had his talent obdurately snatched from him by an Unforgiving God. No. Maurice fell from grace because,according to reliable reports,he,contrary to cricketing and World sport rules,had “contact” with a known bookmaker hence,the report still claims,he benefited monetarily from the bookmaker.

Maurice,obviously,maintains innocence,which is what he is wont to do anyway. He says he didn’t know that the fraudulent man was a bookmaker yet he had known him for a good 8 Years. Maurice knew the rules and regulations. And all he needed to do was follow them . Simple and clear.

Maurice,therefore,was found guilty in 2004 by Zimbabwean Judge Ahmed Ibrahim who sat at the ICC and banned Maurice for 5 Years from Cricket for having contact with and,as allegations went,taking money from a bookmaker.

We DO NOT know the truth. Maurice could be innocent. Or guilty. We do not know. But that’s beside the point. What is important is that,even after the ban,Maurice,obviously,had made quite enough amount of money to sustain himself and his family even after a break from the very remunerative sport.

But what made Maurice broke?? Well,according to his friends,including Robert Burale,Maurice is a man who partied hard and lived large and would sometimes hire a whole hotel floor and book in his friends for a night,or weekend,or week,of endless delectation. Imagine how much money he had to pay for that. Millions.

Maurice,according to reports,is a man who lived big. Splashed money and spent like a Dubai Prince. Well and good. It was his money,anyway. But I wants party to the party . Neither were You.

I wonder how then,after the cash has run out and the wretchedness has set in,I am the one expected to help him bounce back to glory and financial eminence.

Jeff Koinange,as usual,sensationalized Maurice’s extremity with much gusto. Wondering why Kenyans don’t honor their heroes and extolling us to reach deep into our pockets and fund Maurice’s lifestyle. Buy him clothes…shoes…Food…Blah blah blah.

Jeff Koinange,and that Robert Burale fellow,should sit and think of just how many Kenyans have never had the privilege of handling as much money as Maurice once did or even living the nonpareil life that Maurice led.

What Maurice did was,just like Mike Tyson and MC Hammer and OJ Simpson and Lenny Dykstra and Evander Holyfield before him,fail to manage his finances. Fail to look and plan ahead. And fail to see a time where he wouldn’t be playing cricket anymore and thus,he needed something to fall back on.

Mike Tyson,and all the other athletes named above,even glorious footballer,Michael Vick,all are/were American Heroes. But they all fell from grace. And went broke real quick. So did Chris Tucker. Or Wesley Snipes.

But the American public didn’t stop everything to help them bounce back to glory. Neither did the heroes,yes even Antoine Walker and Home Alone icon Macaulay Culkin,beg the American public to re-accept them and enable them find a way and a life again.

They all messed up. Fell from grace,and like the heroes they were supposed to be anyway,found a way to survive,hassle,earn a dollar or two and do small gigs to remain alive and not go begging in the streets.

Tony Braxton did odd jobs after she was declared Bankrupt. Vince Young signs autographs to earn a life after falling from NFL glory. Andre Rison now gets paid to give lectures to athletes advising them to avoid making the ruinous mistakes he did. And Mike Tyson managed to do some not-so-high-profile fight bouts to save his sorry broke ass after Years of wastefulness and profligacy.

No one came to the aid of these American “Heroes”. They fell,sulked,found their inner strength and managed to keep going,keep pushing and keep trying to reclaim their former glory. That’s what heroes do.

They didn’t weep on National TV asking for a second chance (From who???)

Maurice’s life does NOT belong to us. Atleast not anymore. It belongs to him. And him alone.

We all get jilted by Ex-Lovers(Like he did),We all get accused of things we probably never did and we all fall time after time.

And just because You consider Yourself a hero doesn’t give You the right to be viewed and treated with some kind of special lamentation. You’re a hero,after all. You can save Yourself.

Kenyan heroes don’t owe their lives to Us. Its up to them to learn how to live decent lives,learn how to save money,learn how to be frugal in their spending,learn how to surround themselves with the right friends,learn how to follow rules and regulations and learn that careers don’t last forever.

That’s what heroes do. And when You hit rock bottom,and sure You will,You,like the Hero You are,should be man enough to crawl Your way back to glory. And not rant about it. Or ask us to stand by You.

We all have hardships. And it shouldn’t be harder on us and softer on others because they are heroes.

No. It doesn’t work like that. Ask Lance Armstrong.