Afande Denno: The police officer who traded his badge for a trolley of mahindi boilo

Afande Denno ditched the police service and hit the streets to protest against the very government where he worked, for trying to impose new taxes on essential goods and services. 

He has since returned to the streets as an entrepreneur, this time setting up a kibanda where he sells boiled corn, popularly known mahindi boilo.

Citizen Digital visited Afande Denno at his kibanda in Imara Daima, Nairobi, where he talked about his new business, the challenges and triumphs, and what the future holds for him. 

"I wasn't supporting the Gen Z protests; I was actually supporting anything peaceful. I was for peace," Denno says. "When you see someone protesting, there is a reason. You cannot protest for nothing."

He narrates how, in some instances, he helped put out bonfires lit by protesters near Kware Police Station in Embakasi, when his colleagues started accusing him of helping the demonstrators. 

Denno says this is where his fallout with the employer, the National Police Service (NPS), began. 

"These and other incidents got me transferred to Garissa, in Dadaab, as a way of punishing me. My social media activities, relating well with the public and being part of the protests saw me summoned so many times," Denno adds.

He says this and many other frustrations saw him resign from the police force. His bosses did not take the resignation lightly and instead issued a warrant of arrest. 

Denno says his resignation was also influenced by family issues he needed to handle. He was later issued a suspension letter.

"I was very happy when they suspended me. Some officers contributed around Ksh.10,000, and I managed to come back, settled in Thika at a friend's house and started doing content. Things were not easy. I called my mum and told her what had happened. She was very receptive to my move and encouraged me," he adds.

He says his family supported his decision to quit the police service. 

Besides creating content, Denno is now selling mahindi boilo.

"A friend of mine gifted me the sufurias, Mike Sonko gave the jiko, and the stock was given to me by a guy I helped when he had a case," Denno says.

He says his followers have helped push his business, and in a day, he sells over 200 pieces of maize.

Denno does not regret choosing business over police work. He, however, clarifies that he liked his work as a police officer, but that phase has now passed.

"I don't think I can ever go back to the police service. Where they transferred me to made me leave the service. I wanted to work in Nairobi to reform the youth, help them become better persons in society," he adds. 

He narrates how his followers gifted him two houses for free because he was doing good work in the community.

He desires to mentor the boy child because he feels the boy child has been neglected. He recounts how parents used to call him to help correct their sons who were going astray. 

"We want to help as many youth as possible to be self-sufficient. I want to vie for MCA and change the Imara Daima and Embakasi community," he reveals his political ambitions.