Caesar Mwangi, the Executive Dean of Strathmore University is the King’s son. In 1993, he moved to South Africa for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Wits Business School. Although apartheid had reached its knees, it was still a white affair.
There are not many black students who study MBA. Black Africans were even less. But not for the King’s son. The plan is to run for two years and out. He ended up staying for 11 years even though the environment was not friendly to foreign professionals of his skin color.
“In the discomfort, you are forced to reflect and ask yourself ‘Am I going to survive this?” He said. “It makes me ask questions and push me to know who I am. I read a lot to find answers. Caesar will easily lead you into the cerebral rabbit hole of ideology and philosophy that is as high as his. At its very core, Son of the King is about the truth. “Truth just the rules of life,” he said.
How did you become Executive Dean? Definitely an interesting trip.
In 1993, I went to South Africa to do my MBA at Wits Business School. I was supposed to stay for two years, but people said, ‘Why do you want to come back here?’ No prospects. So, after I finished my masters, I joined Deloitte in South Africa.
Remember that South Africa became independent in 1994. I was the second black consultant at Deloitte at the time. It was a horrendous experience. He didn’t believe in himself, he was only seen in the office wearing black skin. Tokens. It’s frustrating, man. I can’t accept that. So I left.
At that time, South Africa was looking for black professions. We have many requests, you know, because everyone wants to show that they have received the new dispensation. I was recruited as the finance director of a medium-sized organization called Independent Mediation Services South Africa (IMSA). I was the youngest member of management, second only to the CEO in terms of seniority and was well paid.
But then again, respect is zero. I’ve been successful in life, but I don’t like working there. I developed migraine headaches due to stress and after two years I quit. I have a decision to make; come back to Kenya or set up a consulting practice in South Africa and work for me. I chose the latter. Guys think I’m crazy. Meanwhile, the job offers keep coming. huge job offer.
Job offer…
Oh yes. The premium pay is huge because there are few black MBA students who qualify from good business schools. Consulting was rough at first but I got so many referrals that I couldn’t handle it. It picked up like crazy, man. So I waited seven years. Johannesburg has been very kind to me.
At some point, I realized that I had to prove to the men that I could get my doctorate in their country, finish it in the required time, and offer better consulting services. I enrolled at the University of Johannesburg from around 2000, and I finished in 2004. At that time, I was married and had three children while working and studying. Then we debated with my husband; where should we raise these children? Shou-
Wait, you met your husband there?
No, I came back in 95, married him, and went back with him.
You knew him before?
yes already. I left here when I was going to study. We’ve been dating. The reason why we have the debate is because in South Africa if you are a black foreigner, you are a member of the third class. After all, the assumption is that you fled from a poor country to the great country of South Africa to take advantage. To take ‘our job’. So I said, I will not take your job. I will create a project for you. I’m fed up with these people.
South Africans have it tough because many of them are uneducated. White people never work for black consulting firms. Black people don’t qualify. I grew up with consultants, so I had to ask Zimbabweans and Kenyans and they worked really well and we provided a very good service. To cut a long story short, now, the question is, where should our children grow up?
We agreed to go back home where I was involved in a consultation with a group called CGIR, part of the World Bank Group.
I am based in Ethiopia. In 2005, the business school of Stathmore University wanted lecturers who could start in 2006 to teach the first class of MBA students. So, I started teaching in 2006, became CEO of Sasini Group later that year, regional director of Global Village Energy Partnership, then joined Sunny Money as CEO, and CEO of ICEA Lion Group until 2022 before becoming dean of the Business School.
Executive Dean of Strathmore University Business School Dr. Caesar Mwangi.
Photo credit: pond
You have done your time. And how old are you now?
I have done my time. I will be 59 on October 31, 2024. I will be 60 next year.
Do you feel 60? What is your internal age?
I don’t feel my age at all. I look at this age thing this way; if you take care of your body, mind and spirit, you will feel good, you will never grow old, you will be enthusiastic, you will do it. Body, mind and spirit.
What do you do for yourself?
I exercise at least three, or four times a week. I run, I go to the gym. I do some light weight training. I walk, I walk. I do these things all the time. There are two types of sports. There are pre-planned exercises; like a gym. Then there are the exercises you do during your work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
My barber is in town so I usually walk from Lavington. I walked to meet my friends at Hotel Sagret. If I meet at the Impala Club, I will walk there. At the airport, I use the stairs instead of the elevator. This is exercise with a purpose. Then food in moderation. Your body does not need too much of anything you eat.
What do you do for your mind?
I love to read. I have long known that my mind is turned on by thinking about the right problems. Truth comes from reading good books and watching good movies. I studied philosophy and it helped me become a critical thinker. And the problem of truth is part of philosophy. What is true? Truth begins with knowing who a person really is. When you nourish your mind, you know who you are and your place in society, and therefore, how you should live.
There is a fine line between truth and what religious people call, and religion from the point of view of sometimes, the study of religious truth, which is theology. There are some connections in all areas and philosophies. There is chaos in the world because humanity refuses to focus on True North.
When did you start tapping into that philosophy?
My journey in a foreign country, encountering challenges without the support of a social network forced me to be self-reflective and to seek knowledge and understanding, to navigate with discomfort, because it may be uncomfortable. In the discomfort, you are forced to reflect and ask, how can I survive? At that time it was very difficult for this hatred to be directed at me. It made me question many things and drove me to understand who I am.
I read a lot to find the answer. He hates us and it’s the kind of constant hatred that eventually migraines start because I don’t understand why he hates and is so negative towards us. I realized they didn’t see who I was, they saw black people. He did not see the king’s son, made in his image. Once you know who you are, your potential and confidence are limitless.
I listened to one of Martin Luther King’s speeches to black people; Don’t forget anyone, because these people don’t want you to believe in yourself. And that’s what happened to me in South Africa. I discovered that as the King’s son, I was planted here to serve the King and give him glory.
What did you learn about money in South Africa during your successful career as a consultant?
Wits University is one of the best business schools in South Africa. They have a 20 percent quota for black students in a class of 40. So there are only eight blacks; five from southern Africa and three from elsewhere in Africa. It is very competitive. Success is guaranteed after graduation. You will get a good job, drive a nice car, and live in a luxury house with a swimming pool and tennis courts. Most of my classmates got it, but I had reservations about such a lifestyle, supported by a functional credit system. I call it a successful look.
I’ve made it clear I don’t want to go into debt. So I bought a two-room flat when I got married in a middle-class neighborhood. Pay off in three years.
My first car was a simple Nissan and a senior person in the organization asked me one day, “You are the finance director, why do you drive a Nissan?” I am happy with my debt free life I am sure if I am in consumer debt like most people in South Africa I will be stuck in a life of ostentation, I want to be free.
My teaching has been clear from the beginning; make money work for you, not work for money. Money can set you free. I know people who have decent salaries but are in serious debt.
From the outside it looks good but inside his life is full of debt. Successful performance.
What do you remember from your childhood?
It’s very simple. We live on a coffee plantation on the outskirts of Nairobi which is now the Garden Estate. It is semi-rural. There are five of us. We don’t have that luxury. My father is a civil servant, my mother is a teacher. So simple. We grow the food we eat. There are cows, goats, chickens and we take care of them there. I went to a government school, also in Nairobi. then the University of Nairobi.
What are you struggling with now that you are almost 60?
Loss of value in this country. That person is conmen. You can’t trust a mechanic or a doctor. It’s so tragic and in the process, so many people are unhappy, and sad, because it doesn’t fit into anything good. It’s all about me, me, me.
One of the classes I took was Opportunities in Africa, where we discussed ethics in Africa in terms of business. No more trust, or integrity. We collect primitives. There is a total betrayal of trust among our leaders, they are here to amass wealth and power. To show off wads of money and pretend to be generous. They show off their cars and palaces. They misuse the word honorable. A joke because there is no respect. That bothers me. Because our children are watching us.
