Editor's Review

  • His first stop was in Uganda where he bought a new phone and spent thousands of shillings on alcohol.  

Nathan Muya Kimani alias JB Masanduku is arguably one of the best stand up comedians in the history of Kenya's comedy industry.

In addition to comedy, JB is also an actor, producer, director, and an events host.  

Speaking during a past interview with Churchill, JB opened up on his early life, noting that when his career picked up, he made a couple of bad decisions that created conflict in his family. 

One such decision was when he decided to leave his ex-wife Tina Kaggia and their young family behind and proceeded for a tour of East Africa after earning his first million.  


File image of JB Masanduku. [Photo: Courtesy] 

According to JB, when he got the huge cheque, he decided to go straight to the airport where he requested an itinerary that would see him travel to Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi in a span of 11 days.

Blinded by the huge amount of money in his account, he did not carry any luggage and opted to purchase new items while on the trip.

His first stop was in Uganda where he bought a new phone and spent thousands of shillings on alcohol. 

According to him, he bought bottles of liquor for many revelers and was surprised that despite his generosity, he still had lots of money.

His 'generosity' also saw him gift his cab driver the new phone that he had bought for over Ksh100,000.

"When I reached Uganda, I exchanged Sh100,000 and became a millionaire both in Kenya and Uganda... I instructed the taxi driver to take me to the most expensive club in town, not the best but the most expensive...

"At the club, I told the waiter that whoever is drinking beer, give them 5 more bottles, whoever is drinking wine, give them 2 more bottles, whoever is taking shots, give them a bottle, I will pay the bill. After paying the bill, I was surprised I still had a lot of money in Ugandan currency," he said.

Unfortunately, he was robbed of Ksh 300,000 while hanging out at one of the Ugandan clubs. 

He then moved to Rwanda where he went on a similar spree before moving to Burundi. He notes that by the time he was leaving Burundi, he had spent the entire million and could not afford to pay for his ride to the airport.

According to JB, when they got to the airport, he left his luggage including clothes and liquor with the motorbike operator and pretended as if he was coming back shortly, but never returned.

He landed back in Kenya with a balance of twelve shillings, noting that he was unable to pay parking fees for his car which he had left at the airport.


File image of JB Masanduku and his wife Jackie Karanja. [Photo: Courtesy]

JB was forced to seek help from his sister who stepped in and cleared the parking fees.

He divulged that his 11-day escapade and heavy drinking habit were part of what led to the collapse of his marriage to Tina Kaggia

JB and Tina parted ways in 2017. He later met Jackie Karanja, an actress, and married her in 2019.