Kenyan born Australian senator Lucy Gichuhi has detailed her journey from a small time girl to a legislator in a foreign country in her new book titled “Behind The Smile: From the Slopes of Mount Kenya to Commonwealth Parliament of Australia”.
In the book, Ms Gichuhi tells how she has been a victim of domestic violence and infidelity from her husband of more than 30 years, William Gichuhi.
The legislator recounts finding her husband in bed with one of her seven sisters and at that particular moment contemplating to take matters into her own hands and later deciding against it.
“I momentarily thought of smashing his head with a drink bottle but then I remembered that I am an Australian now and domestic violence law would catch up with me,” she said.
Gichuhi also tells how she was once struck across the face after asking her spouse to make payment for a certain bill. This was way back in 1999 right after moving to Adelaide.
“All hell broke loose, William did not say a single thing to me that whole week. He was furious…I asked him about a bill that needed to be paid. Suddenly, he charged at me like a raging bull and slapped me so hard across the face. He then hit the wardrobe with his hand and broke the mirror but hurt his hand, which started bleeding,” she continues.
She further notes that telling her story is meant to inspire young girls and women who do not talk about issues taunting them.
“This (book) is about a girl becoming all she can be irrespective of circumstances, gender, color, culture, and creed,” she added.
She first hit the headlines after she was found to have spent Ksh 200,000 of the tax payers money to fly two of her family members for her birthday party.
Gichuhi would later repay the Australian government in full.
Later Kahawa Tungu found that she had been sued on seven different occasions for failing to pay council rates and water bills amounting to more than Ksh1 million, all of which she did not contest.
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