Motanya’s black tax and undying love for avocado

Duncun Motanya is the Country Manager of Zenka. FILE PHOTO | POOL

The trouble with having lunch with a cyclist is that to maintain their svelte, razor-slim figures, they are very picky eaters.

After all, professional cyclists are not known for their hearty appetites, these whippet-thin figurines who put themselves through the physical wringer in a manner ancient Philistines would nod in disapproval.

It was no surprise then that when I meet Duncun Motanya, the Country Manager Zenka (a fintech company) at Milan, on Waiyaki Way, all he has is a bottle of water—before announcing, unceremoniously, that he belongs to the cult of sunny-side eggs eaters.

Sunny-side-up aficionados are the vegans of eggs. Cycling, those who say things say, is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer—when you stop it feels great.

But Duncan doesn’t know how to stop. You wouldn’t entirely be winking in the dark to call him a milliner— it’s the number of hats he wears.

He is a diabetes advocate and educator at Kenya Diabetes and Hypertension Support Group, a not-for-profit offshoot of a Specialty clinic—Diabetes Management Medical Center and Pharmacy.

In January this year, he was appointed as the Chairperson, the Fintech Association of Kenya. His Tinder profile would probably read “Fitness enthusiast eating githeri and avocado while cycling like my life depends on it. I’m not here to be taken for a ride.”

He is married with three children, and a 1200cc BMW Motorcycle (his words) that he rides to work, Kisii or Mombasa come rain come sunshine.

How did you get into cycling?

I used to live with my dad who was a nurse upcountry. He would oscillate between his eight clinics and take me with him to most of those places.

One day, he woke me up at 6am, like there was an emergency. It turned out he had asked his friend to teach me how to cycle. I was 8 years old. Now I’m 37.

Do you ride with him?

No, because he passed away in 2013. He died of diabetes complications. Dad had never told anyone that he was diabetic until the day he had a motorcycle accident that necessitated the amputation of his leg.

The projects I do nowadays are to keep his legacy alive.

That explains the company?

Yes, because when we knew he was diabetic, I realised there is a lot that goes into diabetes and reputation management.

I felt in a way that we had failed him. Other than the medication, our society is not taking a holistic view of diabetes treatments.

So, I started a Facebook page — Diabetes Kenya— in 2014 to provide more information on the condition. Today, the page has 103,000 followers.

What does cycling mean to you?

I used to travel a lot in my previous gig and by 2018 I had grown overweight; my BMI was 28. When you gain weight, most people don’t tell you, to them it is a sign you are doing well.

My doctor read me the riot act, that I needed to walk what I preached, and at first, I tried the gym. It didn’t click. Jogging was a big no.

In 2019, I joined Zenka,  and suddenly I had flexible working hours. One day I stumbled on Critical Mass (a cycling outfit) on Facebook and that is how my torrid love affair with cycling began.

My first ride was to Mundoro in Kiambu with a bike I bought from the supermarket—rookie mistake haha! That bike and I both suffered. Now I enjoy it, the longest ride I have completed in a day is 256 kilometres.

What’s your BMI now?

23 and I weigh about 63kgs.

What’s your riding schedule?

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have to do a minimum of 30 kilometres in the evening. Occasionally, on Sundays, I cycle with a cycling community and do a minimum of 50 kilometres—random rides on two Sundays of the month and indoors on the other Sundays.

You have a family?

I have three children. My firstborn is in Form three at Mangu High School, my daughter is eight and I have a younger son.

Have you ingrained cycling love in them?

Yes, my eldest son has but I realised he prefers skating and basketball. Occasionally, we do Sunday rides. But of course, everyone in the family has a bicycle haha!

What has cycling given you?

Endurance, in terms of helping me attain my health goals, and also building friendships. It opened me to a whole new world and made me accommodative to other people.

I have a new social perspective beyond networking and friendship and discipline because there are things you can’t just indulge in when you are cycling.

Would you believe it when I say that most of the good ideas I have had are mostly when I am on the saddle?

Where do you find the time to cycle and run a business?

I’ve had to make sacrifices to keep the plates in the air. What I do for Zenka is 8 to 5, but because of our time difference, we have an unwritten deal with the employer that we can do flexible hours.

Duncun Motanya is the Country Manager of Zenka. FILE PHOTO | POOL

I am up daily at 4 am, and able to juggle my to-do lists, especially with my not-for-profit outfit. It is completely independent, and I only serve as their sounding board.

I also ride my motorcycle to work every day, because it saves me a lot of time, what with traffic. I don’t work on weekends, that time is for my family and cycling.

Have you had your rite of passage— that customary fall from the bike?

Not really, but when we were riding to Eliye Springs in Turkana where the terrain is extremely difficult, I had many falls.

The route is very sandy, thus the injuries were not as severe. However, with cycling, I have had my minor scrapes, which I attribute to learning the skill when I was young.

Which part of riding bores you?

None. The thing is, even when I am riding, I am mostly listening to something—music, podcasts or ebooks.

Pews or PJs?

I was brought up in an SDA church, but I have had a lot of competing needs that make it hard to attend church. Nonetheless, I ensure the rest of my family attends church.

Your weekend soundtrack?

Rhumba. I want my weekends to be chill, jazzy, and those nostalgic hits.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve spent money on?

When I first came to Nairobi, I was sold one of those bootleg street phones. I am a businessman, and I saw a good

deal haha!

What is an unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?

I am a lone rider. I also demand a lot of perfection from people, and it’s absurd that I give people 100 percent trust when we meet. That has come back to bite me severally.

What is the most personal gift you’ve ever received?

That has to be the keys to a classic car, a BMW 1990 E34 by Webman. Everyone calls him Webman. Long story, don’t ask haha!

Webman must really like you?

Well, it was not like I knew him for a long time. He has been riding for the past 54 years, and we easily bonded through cycling.

There are a couple of things I helped him out with concerning his health, no strings attached, and he invited me to his house and said there was something he had been keeping for me. Voila! It was a car.

What is that one book that has stayed with you?

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It touched me in many ways. One day you have life, the next you don’t. It changes your perspective.

In 2012, I read an article from a Ugandan writer, Robert Kalumba asking ‘if today was your last day, any regrets?’ He painted a picture of the ideas of success we have and questioned them.

When you think of the weekend what food comes to mind?

I don’t do wheat but whatever it is, it has to have avocado. Cassava and nduma (arrow roots) whet my appetite, add kienyeji chicken and I might even sell you my birthright—as long as there is avocado.

There is no day that passes in my life without eating avocado.

Do you have a purchase of Sh10,000 bob that really impacted your life?

The kinanda, the old record player. My dad had a collection of all those old records, and when it plays it reminds me of where I have come from. Music is a massage for the soul.

Do you have a personal treat?

I take myself out to the movies. Right now, I need to go and watch John Wick. But I love riding to different places, to enjoy the scenery. Or anywhere with a medium rare steak.

Lately, what have you become good at saying no to?

Saying no to black tax. I’ve been doing it for a while and I have noticed it builds dependency on people; it is a vicious cycle.

What is a weekend hack you know?

I would encourage folks to pick titles from Kenyan writers as a way of promoting local talent. Indulge and bury yourself in those books.

Who do you know that I should know?

Kelvin Otiende. He runs a public relations firm, Calla PR, which is named after his daughter.

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