Ex-Rugby star Dennis Ombachi reveals traumatic childhood experience
Content creator and former Rugby 7’s player, Dennis Ombachi, popularly known as ‘Roaming Chef’, has opened up about a core traumatic memory from his past.
Ombachi implored fellow Kenyans to cultivate a sense of communal responsibility and emphasized the significance of living together with unity.
The TikTok sensation recounted a painful incident from his childhood when, at the tender age of 7, his father received a letter compelling him to resign from his job due to ethnic profiling.
Ombachi reflected on how ethnic profiling had been a part of his life even before the infamous 2007 post-election violence.
“Ethnic profiling is not new to my life, even before 2007 we had the 90’s. I remember I was around 7 years old when my dad received a letter asking him to resign or else they were coming for his head and our family just because we were from a different community,” shared Ombachi.
The sudden and forced resignation had a profound impact on their lives, as Ombachi’s mother became the family’s sole breadwinner.
The family, once enjoying a comfortable two-income household, had to adapt to a life of cutting down on expenses and making ends meet.
Fortunately, the kindness of a few good-hearted individuals helped them through those challenging times.
Revealing their coping mechanism, Ombachi disclosed that the family turned to selling ‘mitumba’ (second-hand clothes), which sustained them until the eruption of the fateful 2007 chaos that once again threw them into despair.
“We had a decent life before then, but he had to resign, and every responsibility was left to my mother, and the ‘mitumba’ selling business kept us going, well until 2007 when that also stopped,” remembered the father of two.
The 2007 election violence threatened their family’s safety, but Ombachi and his family were fortunate to experience the beauty of kindness.
The former Rugby player expressed gratitude for the kind strangers who provided updates on the unfolding chaos and guided them to sanctuaries.
Reflecting on the current state of Kenyan society, Ombachi lamented the persistence of tribalism and the lack of unity among citizens.
He emphasized the need for Kenyans to learn from the past, advocating for togetherness and condemning the ugly specter of tribalism.
“I really pity our generation that is still divided by tribalism here, even here on the TL (X time line). Most haven’t experienced how quick the situation can turn ugly. My experiences have taught me the importance of us all living as brothers and sisters because had it not been for a few good Samaritans who in 2007 kept updating my mother on routes to use and where to go for safety we’d be talking another story,” opined the former Rugby player.
Ombachi expressed disappointment that, despite his initial belief that the nation had learned from past mistakes, tribalism and division persist.
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