I've turned down heavy bags- Dennis Ombachi reveals

Former Kenya 7’s rugby player turned award-winning food content creator Dennis Ombachi popularly known as The Roaming Chef has revealed he’s turned down several lucrative brand deals because they did not align with his beliefs and principles.

The father of 2 made the revelation after an X post he had put up cutting ties with telecommunications company Safaricom went viral.

In the post, Ombachi announced he would no longer be working with Safaricom as an influencer due to allegations that the company had intentionally disrupted their services on the evening of Tuesday the 25th after citizens occupied Parliament during the Reject Finance Bill protests.

Some social media users questioned his decision to cut ties with the telecom company wanting to know if they were really from a genuine place.

To elude their fears the Roaming Chef took to his X page to reveal that this is not the first time he has had to pull such a move.

“My decisions are all based on my values not money,” firmly stated the Olympian.

He went on to divulge some of the brands that he has explicitly refused to work with despite the tempting paychecks that have been presented to him.

“I have turned down heavy bags from Betting and Alcoholic brands because of what I believe in and life experiences. Money can buy all the nice things but of what use are they if we lose all the things that money can’t buy?” Ombachi wrote.

After his post gained traction, social media influencer and artist The Magunga also came out to announce he would be following in Ombachi’s footsteps and cutting ties with Safaricom.

In his post the artist wrote,” I will earn my keep elsewhere! It’s a tough decision since I have been loyal to Safaricom for over 10 years and we have worked together all along. But after what you guys did, I am ashamed to be associated with you,”

He went on in a different post to confirm that seeing the father of 2 outright call out the company gave him the courage to do so as well and make his stance known.

“I have to admit that my decision- while it is something I held in my heart since jana- was emboldened by Ombachi today morning,” his tweet read.

The two join a list of high influencers such as content creator Muchiri Mike, globally acclaimed actress Kate Kamau and gospel artist and podcast host Ben Cyco who have also announced they will no longer be working with the telecommunications company.

Ben went to the extent of pulling his songs from Safaricom’s Skiza platforms and tunes highlighting it was, “End of an era,” for him.