• The MP had in a previous interview on his channel said he had always wanted to bring the duo back but the neighbourhood was against it.
• But the MP on Sunday said he buried the hatchet with the duo and brought Eli back to work at his home in Nairobi.
Image: SCREENGRAB
Lang'ata MP Phelix Odiwuor popularly known as Jalang'o has forgiven his former casuals Eli Mundu Khumundu and Morrison Litiema over a year after they stole from him and went into hiding.
The MP had in a previous interview on his channel said he had always wanted to bring the duo back but the neighbourhood was against it.
But the MP on Sunday said he buried the hatchet with the duo and brought Eli back to work at his home in Nairobi.
"I made peace with this guy and brought him back to work," he said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
On June 4, 2022, Jalang'o offered Sh100,000 to anyone who would provide him with information that would lead to the arrest of the two after he accused them of theft.
"This morning [Saturday], Eli Khumudu and Morris Litiema stole money from the car they were washing at home. Their phones are off and they are running with their families," he wrote on his social media pages.
"Eli, karibu kazi (welcome back to work)," the MP said in the video, to which Eli replied, "Asante sana daktari (Thank you so much, doctor)"
"Nimerudi kazi hata Mungu amefurahi sana (I'm back to work even God is very happy," Eli, donned in an apron marked 'Ground Manager'," added.
Jalang'o asked exactly what happened on the fateful day they stole from him despite having said in a previous interview that they would never steal from their boss despite him leaving millions of cash in his car.
"We can't touch them. Our faithfulness has made our stay with Jalang'o. You wait for your salary at the end of the month."
But Eli opened up on what drove them to change their minds on June 4, 2022.
He said it was Litiema who "sniffed" the cash in Jalang'o's BMW and informed him about it, but Eli dismissed him saying it was a normal occurrence and they should continue with their cleaning assignment.
Eli said he was cleaning a Land Cruiser Discovery while Litiema was on the BMW.
He said he left momentarily to fetch water but returned to find the gate open and his colleague missing.
"In the process of looking for him, I was informed we have already been posted online as wanted. So I was scared and went into hiding because the public could have taken the law in their hands," Eli explained.
"They can kill daktari."
He said he later caught up with Litiema with whom they eventually agreed to share the loot 50-50.
"Morrison told me he found new Sh1 million currency notes so we shared Sh500,000 each."
Jalang'o said the amount lost was more than Sh1 million to which Eli said he wasn't aware of any other amount other than the Sh500,000 which he eventually returned as his conscience couldn't let him hide.
Eli said he went straight to his rural home in Bungoma after parting ways with Litiema at Zambezi along Waiyaki Way.
He then boarded a numberless car that had been collected from the port of Mombasa.
"I did not even get home with the whole amount. I had to bribe the driver and anyone else who recognised me from the post you had made," Eli said.
He said he regretted his decision and called Jalang'o to ask for forgiveness, which the MP, whom he repeatedly referred to as daktari, did.
"That's why I'm here and I thank God and want him to give you a long life so that in the coming days, I also have a heart like yours. We would be dead by now," he said.
"What if you are planning to steal even more this time round," Jalang'o asked. "
Most people are saying I should not reinstate you to work because I was using your story to chase clout for political mileage."
"No, you even know right now I won't do such a thing because since I came back you still leave cash in the vehicle. We stole, that is a fact and this was not clout chasing because we had already finished nominations and you have won," Eli explained.
He blamed the Devil for the misdemeanour saying he visited so many churches while upcountry asking for forgiveness as it was his first ever theft case since childhood.
Eli said because of the theft incident, he lost fans on his social media handles while others deleted his phone contact.
He revealed that he still keeps in touch with Litiema who currently stays in Kikuyu, further adding that he has started from square one as he proposes to turn on a new leaf after Jalang'o gave him a second chance.
"We would be very far by now but I have now started from zero, I even sleep on the floor and I have no chairs," Eli said.