Kiptum Eldat Basil: How I Got Scammed 34k
- Editorial
- 22 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Samuel M. Ngari.
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you- Maya Angelou in her poem, I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings.
Through my walks in Chuka University, I got the opportunity to meet a great man of valour with an untold story, and he shares how he has maneuvered through his campus life.
Kiptum Eldat Basil is a finalist student pursuing Nursing. Eldat founded the Red Cross and St John Ambulance in 2021. The two clubs later parted ways, and he took the role of chairperson for Saint John Ambulance, while his friend took the role of chairperson for the Red Cross.
In his first year, while taking a walk around Nithi Bridge, a dark spot located on the Meru-Nairobi Highway, coincidentally, an accident occurred, prompting Basil to swing into action, with people calling him ‘daktari’ for being a nursing student.
Having very few skills in nursing since he had just joined campus, did not deter him from offering assistance to the casualties, and one of the heads at Chuka General Hospital noticed him after he escorted the casualties to the hospital.
From there, Basil would get a chance to offer assistance at Chuka General Hospital during his free time at a small fee, also allowing him to practice what he had learnt in class. He also gained popularity among comrades around the school who often sought medical assistance when sick.
On December 2023 he created a news channel for students in Chuka University called Comrades News Corner which has garnered over 3200k followers and continues to grow, Basil in April 2024, decided to test himself further and tried his luck and auditioned as a radio host at the Chuka University Radio which then only offered opportunities to only media students.
Basil luckily got a chance to be a frequent guest on Thursdays during Comrade’s Health Show, which aired for 3 months during Kazi Mseto show that was hosted by Mama Nana and Brian Mukundi, popularly known as Mugicagi.
They drafted a good timetable on what to discuss for the three months. Unlike other students, nursing students usually have a tri-semester, which made it possible for Basil to invite his colleagues to offer insights on health matters at the radio show. They also invited lecturers of Nursing and health workers at Chuka General Hospital to the show.
The show talked about matters concerning health, and unfortunately, in August of the same year, he went for his nursing rotations, bringing a halt to the show since it lacked a radio host to back it up. However, soon they started running the show again during Kazi Mseto, on Thursdays and rebranded it to Health Show on Thursday, inviting the same nursing students and health experts.
Basil, together with Gabriel, his coursemate who is the chairman for Chuka University Nursing Students, started visiting high schools and offering pads to girls and even around the campus. Basil, who is also passionate about men's issues, found it discriminatory not to include men in their philanthropy activities, leading him to start the Chuka University Men’s Association.
Basil has also been a brand ambassador for Chuka University, and he often takes students around the school.
Challenges.
Basil, during his first year of study he lost his grandfather, who was his mentor, and that anguish of losing someone made him sad. His grandfather was his confidant, and Basil would approach him about his struggles. It would affect his grades since his grandfather sponsored his education to a great extent. During his second year, it got tougher financially, and his night shifts in Chuka General were not cutting it for his upkeep, but he still persevered.
In his third year, Basil got scammed and he lost 34,000 Kenyan shillings while trying to purchase a laptop from an online vendor. In a painful recollection of events, a comical Basil explains the events that led to his being duped.
Basil had saved his HELB upkeep loans amounting to 34k when he saw an online vendor called Kiprotich, who ran HP Laptop Deliveries based in Embu. Through their chats, Basil was convinced that Kiprotich was a genuine man for various reasons: one, he sent convincing pics of the said laptop, and secondly, Kiprotich was his ‘kinsman’.
After making the payments, Basil patiently waited for his new HP laptop, but dear reader, Kiprotich decided to send a well-wrapped A4 exercise book in a parcel. In layman's language, Basil alioshwa (got conned) and in this case, brutally.
This would send Basil into a frenzy mode and he could not concentrate in class. Basil was in a dilemma since he could not tell his parents who would call him out for having lied that he had not received his HELB upkeep loans. In his Kalenjin land, 34k is a lot of money, and one can buy three cows using the money.
When I asked him why he did not reach out to anyone and most importantly to the police, he said his kinsmen are lethal with getting away with anything for having deep connections with the police and to him he felt like he would be pissing in the wind making a report about the matter.
Basil talks about having suicidal thoughts after this experience, which led him to withdraw from friendships and his roles as a student. He had even stopped going to Chuka General Hospital for nightshift jobs.
Basil, who is a class rep, would assign classes and not attend them from the shame of being conned into such a huge chunk of money. Being too shy to talk about his struggles, he would hide in his room until one day Professor Lucy, the Dean for Nursing in Chuka, reached out to him, nearing the exam period.
Basil, full of gratitude, thanks Professor Lucy, who came through financially till the end of that semester and also offered him a listening ear, which was his first step to healing.
A Stronger Basil.
This experience rejuvenated Basil’s passion for helping men, and on February 14th 2025, during Valentine’s Day, he invited all male students to a male conference in the school’s pavilion. The purpose of this conference was to give men a space to interact with each other and offer support to each other on this day.
While this was Basil’s third men’s conference, on this particular day, he got overwhelming support from over 350 male students. The event was also sponsored by Chuka University and Indomie, an instant noodle brand.
Dear Men…..Basil cautions men against addictive behaviours that might affect one’s life negatively. He cautions against reckless dating, betting, porn, masturbation and using drugs. He also hopes that the next event will be huge, and he encourages sponsors to come through.
He encourages students struggling with mental health issues to reach out to the school for support and counselling.
Who are your motivators?
He takes great inspiration from Ndindi Nyoro, a member of parliament (MP) for Kiharu Constituency, whom he terms a strategic leader who has great leadership skills. He terms Ndindi a man who spends every taxpayer’s coin well. He also praises Peter Salasya, Member of Parliament for Mumias East constituency, as another leader who has great political advisers whom he takes inspiration from.
He terms his parents as his motivators for continually believing in him, not only as a nursing student but also for his multiple roles in his campus life.
Political Aspirations.
Basil, who has been a class prefect since class four all through his high school life and is now a class representative, hopes to be the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Kenya. He had hoped to be a student leader on campus, but it was not possible for various reasons.
After being scammed, his dreams of vying for any student leadership position were tarnished. This is because one requires money to vie for leadership roles on campus.
He, however, hopes to vie for Nandi’s gubernatorial seat or become a Member of the County Assembly in the coming 2027 elections.
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