When multimillion alcohol empire was raided in Thika town last week, the world of Kenya’s most reclusive billionaire was opened for all to see.
Detectives led by Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and senior Kenya Revenue Authority officials made what they said was a dazzling find An estimated 21 million counterfeit excise stamps and 312,000 litres of illicit products all worth billions of shillings in taxes.
Mr Humphrey Kariuki’s Africa Spirits Limited is now under police watch and by Sunday evening, detectives were still looking for him.
Africa Spirits is only a small part of Mr Kariuki’s multibillion empire all under the name of a holding company, Janus Continental Group and which encompasses all that a billionaire would want: A five-star luxurious Mt Kenya Safari Club originally a retreat to famous Hollywood stars such as William Holden who founded the club.
Its members once included British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US singer and actor Harry Bing Crosby.
The name Janus is significant in one critical way and for such an empire.
Janus, which means “the beginning and origin of things”, is an ancient two-faced Roman god who provided protection in the beginnings and endings “at the gates, the doorways, and passages and endings”.
As a god, Janus had the uncanny ability to see both in front and behind; thanks to his being a two-faced god.
But when detectives raided one of Janus’ establishments in Thika it seemed that the protection against any nosy raid on Janus properties had vanished; at the tail-end of January (which ironically stands for the month of Janus).
Unlike other billionaires who love publicity, Mr Kariuki is the country’s equivalent of Mr Brad Kelley, the US tycoon known for his love of exotic animals, and who despite his extra-ordinary wealth shies away from publicity.
Born 61 years ago in Nyeri in a family of 10, Mr Kariuki studied at Nairobi School and Kagumo High School before joining Central Bank of Kenya when he was only 19 as a clerk.
“I was at the bottom of the ladder. I always tell people that in life you need to start from the bottom; the only place where you start at the top is when you’re digging a well. So I started as a clerk, and then went on to work in various other departments in the bank,” he told Forbes magazine in 2017.
Mr Kariuki says he made some “decent income” at Central Bank and that he ventured into the business world by importing cars starting off with a car owned by his UK-based elder sister which he had shipped to Nairobi.
“I was able to sell (the car) at double the price my sister was asking for. I gave my sister her money and kept the rest for myself. I was amazed, and I wondered: ‘Is this how easy it is to make money?’”
And that is the story that Mr Kariuki tells about his rise into the billionaire ranks.