Portrait of Polycarp Igathe — The Contender

Politics has a way of putting people under a spotlight unlike anything else. When Polycarp Igathe resigned from his position at Equity Group Holdings in April 2022 to contest for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat, Kenya's eyes turned toward him. Here was a man who had built an impressive corporate career — and was now betting it all on public service. I wanted to watch him closely. Not just as a citizen curious about Nairobi's future, but as an artist drawn to faces that carry weight — faces that tell a story of ambition, conviction, and calculated risk. Before the 2022 general elections, I felt the urge to put him on paper. There was something compelling about capturing him at this exact moment — in between two worlds, having left one chapter and not yet begun the next. I worked in graphite on A3 paper, focusing on the detail in his eyes behind those signature glasses, the texture of his suit, and that wide, confident smile that seemed to say he knew exactly what he was doing. I completed the portrait on 7th May 2022 — months before the elections, before the outcome was known.