Intrigued by threads he had come across online, Lesalon Kasaine hunted down Peter Ngugi, to hear first-hand his life story and unpack how the Kenyan became a household name in India. Kusaine, who edits the news site Qasini, appears here as a guest writer for bird story agency.
by Lesalon Kasaine
Murder in the Open Streets
In the winter season in Delhi, India, in the year 2016, what started as a minor altercation powered by racism ended up in the death of an African.
Two Indians, seemingly in a hurry, approached a rickshaw they wanted to board. But upon checking, they figured there wasn't enough space in the public transport vehicle. Their solution was to ask an African who had already boarded to alight to make room for them.
As you would expect, the African felt singled out because of his skin colour. He wasn’t willing to step out without a fight. A heated bandying of words ensued, and, quickly, escalated to a physical altercation. The two Indians overpowered the African, pushed him to the ground, and then in true monster fashion, brought down a huge rock on his head. He died.
His name was Olivier Masonda, a 23-year-old Congolese teacher who had left the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 to study in India. The murder was caught on a CCTV camera and sparked an uproar that reverberated throughout India: was this a racially charged murder? The Delhi Police arrested the two suspects and launched a manhunt for a third suspect. This killing sparked collective pain and a cry for justice from Africans living in India.
The shocking murder in the open streets of India was also the final straw for Peter Ngugi, a Kenyan living in India at the time. He picked up his bicycle and cycled across the country to combat racism – in the process ‘breaking the internet’ and becoming news himself, in the days following the callous murder. But Ngugi’s story doesn’t start here. It starts in Mikindani, Mombasa, Kenya.
Society Funds Trip to India for Studies
Let’s travel back to 2013, to Mikindani, Mombasa, Kenya, where lived a humble young man Peter Ngugi, who had completed his form four at Changamwe High School in 2010 and had a commendable penchant for computers.
Ngugi wasn’t interested in pursuing a university education. What for, when he had a brain that loved business, a brain that could set him up for a career as an entrepreneur? Determined to maximise his talent, Ngugi set up a small movie shop that doubled up as an electronics and hardware repair shop. Stunners Inc., he called it.
A friend noticed his love for computers and despite Ngugi’s disinterest in academia, advised him to consider taking a degree in India, citing the country's excellent track record in computer-related courses.
Initially dismissive, the idea plagued Ngugi. For a long while, he thought about it and then, in 2013, after poring through the internet to check out computer courses, he decided to apply for a course in computer science at India’s KSR Institute for Engineering and Technology.
Unable at first to raise the fees and travel costs, the universe clicked into gear, conspiring as it so often does to help a man or woman on a mission. This time it came through in the form of local society. In retrospect, Ngugi said, it was the mama mboga’s, the shopkeepers, and other small business owners together with his friends and family who came together to fund-raise for his travel and first semester fees.
Landing in India for the First Time
Teary-eyed and with a heart full of gratitude after that acts of kindness, Ngugi flew to India for the first time, that same year. His community had sacrificed to send him off, and he was determined to do his best and return a computer science degree holder.
But what we plan and what happens, mostly, are worlds apart — as Ngugi came to learn first-hand.
Barely one semester into his course, Ngugi realised that everything he had dreamed of was just but a mirage. The reality of the course, as he explained in his own words, 'missed the advertising mark they had given'. The course he was taking wasn’t at all what he had wanted. Moreover, his society back in Kenya had only funded his first semester, and Ngugi had to work to earn and pay for his fees. Stressed and under pressure, he dropped out.
But with the expectations of his entire society on his shoulders, Ngugi wasn’t ready to fly back home. He decided to remain in India, hang tough, and hustle hard.
Thanks to a strong and closely-knit community of Kenyans in India, a friend, Munene Robert, took Ngugi in. For the whole time he hosted a confused and disappointed Ngugi in Bengaluru, Munene never asked him for rent. Something that Ngugi said he will forever be grateful for. After days of staying indoors and trying to map out his next plan, Ngugi put his finger on something he could do. A come-back kid stubbornly refusing to bury his head, that’s who he was.
The Hackathon Competition that Changed Peter Ngugi’s Life
With the cash equivalent to Ksh.20,000 (US$180) which he had saved up, Ngugi enrolled at a coding institute. That way - what he had wanted all along - he could focus on coding only.
Things worked out for him in his newly-found institution, and he became one of the top students. Passion can make magic when you let it.
While learning how to code, Ngugi entered into a hackathon coding competition organised by IBM in India, and clinched the first runner-up position. He even made news in Indian newspapers for his flair in coding. IBM was also interested in hearing his business ideas. Ngugi pitched Office Space Finder, a platform to connect young entrepreneurs with companies that have extra space they can rent out. IBM loved the idea. They funded it, setting up a then-21-year-old Ngugi with a handsome salary and a life that had earlier on only existed as a dreamed utopia, deep in the recesses of his mind.
Not only did he get a budget to hire people and pay them well, but he also had a driver to drive him around in a company vehicle. You’d hit the nail on the head if you said that Ngugi had it all. But that was about to change; drowned in the unforgiving lake of his mistakes.
Girls. Alcohol. A debauched life that seemed attractive to a 21-year-old master of the universe.
You’re Fired! Mistakes and Shame
It wasn’t long before his IBM bosses noticed his off-the-rails demeanour. In March 2015, young Ngugi was fired. He fell hard and far, straight into the depths of depression.
The shame. From riches to rags. Depression gnawed at his mind. Where to go, after failing for a second time?
During his brief high-status stint, Africans living in India had looked up to him. Unable to face them again, he resorted to running away from the city. At this point, he still had a pile of amassed savings. Among the 27 states in India, there was only one that Ngugi did not visit during this time, trying to outrun his shame. He eventually settled in Meghalaya state, where he volunteered as a Maths and English teacher, tutoring children under eleven. He also taught at a school for the disabled, in Shillong.
Then came the 2016 altercation between two murderous Indians and an African in a rickshaw. It would change Peter Ngugi’s life for good.
Pedalling for Peace
When Ngugi heard that two Indians had brutally murdered an African, it shocked and saddened him. This, he thought, was something that shouldn't happen. His emotional response culminated in pain, a cry for Africans living in the country, and an unwavering fist raised against racism. Day and night, he thought of what best he needed to do because clearly, something needed to be done.
Ngugi remembered how, on arrival in India, he had become conscious of his race for the first time in his life. He was Black.
He missed being able to walk around freely without feeling different. As a result of many Hollywood films portraying Black people as either professional sports people or miscreants, and drug dealers, Ngugi thought, it was clear that some Indians saw Africans as thugs. His own experiences, however, with friendly and kind Indians, outweighed the few bad experiences.
"Africans need to come together with Indians and talk about the racism issue. We need to live in harmony. And that’s what I’m going to make happen. Create a platform for conversations that will help us understand the problem and seek solutions," he thought.
That was when the idea to cycle through India, hosting events in schools and meeting with Indian leaders and the police to champion open talks to gain an understanding of racism and streamline solutions, struck him.
His Indian friends loved the idea and funded him.
One morning, armed only with courage and inspiration from Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries, Ngugi started the journey that would see him cycle 5,000 plus kilometres across seven states in India. The initial plan was to cycle to Chile in South America, but he ended up doing seven states in India. You might be tempted to think that Ngugi had prior experience in long-distance cycling. He didn’t. The only time in his life when he had ridden a bicycle was years before in Naivasha, Kenya, when he used to deliver milk.
The Impact and Platforms for Open Conversations on Racism
Ngugi’s act became something that Indians would embrace, an opening for conversations about race, status and identity that could make life in India better, and an act that changed Ngugi’s life as he knew it.
Upon arrival in a state in India, Ngugi would report to the police station to inform them of his presence and what he was doing. In one instance, when he arrived in Shillong, Guwahati, he was received by a group of Indian cyclists. They took him to Spoke Hub, a cycling shop where his bike was serviced for free and cycling gear provided.
The group’s leader, Pratiba, hosted Ngugi in his home. Pratiba used his powerful connections to ensure that wherever Ngugi made a transitory stop-over, a group of cyclists waited for him and accompanied him. He also made sure that there was free food and accommodation for Ngugi wherever he stopped to turn in for the day.
In another instance, Ngugi arrived in Odisha and found members of parliament waiting for him. He even got the privilege of a police escort. Throughout the forty-eight days of cycling, Ngugi gained an intrinsic understanding of Indians. He began to understand the role of education and media in creating cohesive societies. The cycling journey became a success he could never have imagined. And slowly, a love for international relations began flowering.
Fame Can Sink You Into Depression
His story was featured in news all over India, and Ngugi became famous. His newly-found fame, however, hurt him. He admits that the hardest part of his life in India came after cycling.
Being famous can depress you. The world suddenly shifts its focus to set it upon you. Every little move that you make. People set high expectations for you. Ngugi was not spared from the repercussions of fame.
After his cycling journey – which has been credited with changing India and encouraging Africans to speak up and share their ideas – Ngugi was broke. His past mistakes started haunting him again. No degree. No more top pay from IBM. No place to call his home. Again, he spiralled into depression, unable to walk freely in the streets as his face and name were now iconic. He desired to travel back to Kenya but decided against it, for he had nothing to show for the investment his society made in him. His only option was to live at a friend's place, remaining indoors most of the time.
His shameful and depressed life went on for a while until one day he was invited to speak at a conference in Delhi. It was a conference geared towards mediating the conflict in leadership in the African Student Association. When Ngugi stepped onto the podium, an Indian woman made her way to him and threw her arms around him, crying. This surprised everyone in the conference hall. After crying and embracing Ngugi, she got her emotions stitched together and then spoke to the audience. She revealed how she had worked with Africans across India and how she had read about Ngugi in the news and had always wanted to meet him. Her name was Indryani Mulay, the deputy director of the Confederation of Indian Industries. She would later invite Ngugi to a C.I.I. conference.
Back to School
It was through the conference that someone took an interest in Ngugi’s story. A woman gave him her business card and said, “Ngugi, when you are ready to go back to school, look for me”.
Her name was Anita Patankar, Director at the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts. In July 2018, Ngugi received a full scholarship to study International Politics at Symbiosis.
Skizaa, an Edu-Tech Startup
If you thought that this was where the story ended, you’re wrong. Ngugi met Alexandra, his British fiancée, while at the school. The two of them founded Skizaa in 2021, an online platform that initially set out to promote intercultural interactions among kids. Skizaa borrows from the Swahili word “skiza” which means “listen”. Ngugi said he believes that the more you listen, the more you learn.
As with any new company, Skizaa underwent changes and grew into a platform that enables teachers from different countries to collaborate and leverage global networks to create local solutions. Over time, Skizaa ventured into technology tailored to boost education. The company now supports NGOs and non-profits by revolutionising data collection and analysis from last-mile schools across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Teachers are the single most important factor affecting how much students learn. Skizaa aims to empower them to improve learning outcomes for students as well as their well-being.
Peter Ngugi is passionate about creating safe spaces for cultural education. He is a big fan of Kenyan radio presenters Maina Kageni and Mwalimu King'ang'i, whose show airs on Classic F.M.
_Lesalon Kasaine is a thriller writer, poet, and journalist passionate about telling stories of ordinary Africans doing the extraordinary. He is the content manager at Qazini.com, a platform dedicated to changing the narrative of Africa. He spoke to Peter Ngugi, who was in India at the time via Zoom call._
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