- For 28 years, John Amoni has worked as a shoe-shiner on the streets of Kitale Town in Trans Nzoia County
- He has polished the shoes of some of the prominent individuals, including former vice president the late Wamalwa Kijana
- For the years he has been a cobbler, Amoni has kept every receipt from the daily fee they pay to the local government
- He was part of the Trans Nzoia delegation that visited President William Ruto at the State House, Nairobi, in 2023 courtesy of his job
Every morning before sunrise, 50-year-old John Amoni sets up his shoe-shining tools outside a prominent hotel in Kitale Town, Trans Nzoia county, ready to attend to his clients.
Source: Original
For the last 28 years, Amoni, a resident of Waitaluk area, has been creating a positive first impression on his customers through his unmatched shoe-shining skills.
In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, the shoe-shiner revealed that when he first arrived in Kitale from Lodwar, Turkana County, he His relative introduced him to Otieno, a shoe-shiner, now deceased, and he was asked to pay KSh 800 to demonstrate his commitment to his new job.was employed as a cowboy, a job he did not like and had to look for another.
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How John Amoni ventured into shoe-shining
His relative introduced him to Otieno, a shoe-shiner, now deceased, and he was asked to pay KSh 800 to demonstrate his commitment to his new job.
After three years of training, he set up his own shoe shine kiosk. He bought shoe brushes, shoe polish, needles, a cobbler’s knife, pliers, a file, a hammer, nails and threads at a cost of KSh 2,500.
“Otieno taught me how to polish, shine and repair shoes. Jeremiah and John taught me how to attach soles because I left Otieno’s place knowing how to repair sleepers,” Amoni told TUKO.co.ke.
In 1997, Kitale cobblers charged KSh 7 to shine a pair of shoes, and they paid KSh 10 per day to the local government.
“Ilipofika 1998, mambo ikachacha, kila mwanabiashara ikawa lazima alipe 20 bob (In 1998, we were forced to pay KSh 20, which we paid until 2013 when devolution was introduced,” the prominent shoe-shiner noted.
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“The County Government of Trans Nzoia raised that amount to KSh 30. As you can see behind me, receipts are dating back to 1997,” he added.
Under Governor George Natembeya’s administration, the cobbler, like other small traders, pays KSh 40 per day.
Who are some prominent politicians the Kitale cobbler has served?
The cobbler takes pride that he has served several powerful people, including the late vice president Michael Kijana Wamalwa, former Forestry Minister, Dr Noah Wekesa, and former Minister of Agriculture, Kipruto Arap Kirwa.
Source: Original
Others are Governor George Natembeya, Trans Nzoia Woman Representative, Lilian Siyoi, some Kitale Law Courts magistrates, senior advocates and established company chief executive officers, who all left his kiosk smiling and rewarded him handsomely.
Sitatunga ward Member of County Assembly (MCA), Simon Murei, is one of Amoni’s loyal customers. You will find him reading his newspaper while the cobbler transforms his shoes.
“A friend of mine introduced me to him in the early 2000s, and since then, I have never gone to any other shoe-shiner in this town. I come here daily because his skills satisfy me,” Murei said.
While his job has enabled him to educate his children and feed his family, he likes it because it keeps him busy and connects different people.
“After I polished and shone Governor Natembeya’s shoes, he was very impressed and apart from leaving me smiling on my face, he included my name in the list of his delegation that went to the State House in March 2023. I don’t think I would have gone to the State House if I were still herding cows,” he said.
The shoe-shiner considers nurturing other cobblers as his lifetime achievement. Three of his students are now in Nairobi, six are in Kitale town, 15 are in Lodwar, and three are in Sudan. All of them get their daily bread through shoe-shining and repairs.
Source: Original
Currently, Amoni nurtures Samuel Lowoi, who told TUKO.co.ke that the shoe-shining job has taught him patience and how to deal with people with different personalities.
“Hii kazi inalipa. Watoto wanapata maziwa na mahitaji mengine. (This job pays because at the end of the day, I can provide for my family),” Lowoi said.
What challenges do shoe-shinners face?
Although on a good day, Amoni makes approximately KSh 700, cobblers face their own set of challenges, just like any other job.
“Apart from insults that we are liars, we have to clean shoes which have stepped on different places. This job isn’t for the fainthearted,” said the ever-smiling cobbler.
More often than not, you will find a pile of repaired shoes in a cobbler’s kiosk, and Amoni revealed that some dishonest clients bring their torn shoes for repair, knowing very well they will not collect them.
Source: Original
He recalled keeping a pair of shoes belonging to a senior provincial administrator for four years before he later disposed of them. They have an unwritten rule that after 90 days have elapsed and customers have not collected their shoes, they dispose of them.
“Some of our clients think our places are dumping sites,” he lamented.
Amoni also noted that while some of his children have tried to dissuade him from leaving the job, he has made up his mind that he will retire once he feels it is the right time because he does not want to depend on them.
Does Jeff Koinange take shoes to a cobbler?
Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported that veteran broadcaster Jeff Koinange left many surprised after admitting that he has never taken his shoes to a cobbler for repair.
Koinange, often considered a cool kid in the media industry, said whenever his shoes suffer minor tears and wear, they are thrown away.
For a majority of Kenyans, it’s only when they are beyond repair that they can be disposed of.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
