‘Jane Bond’, spy who hides in plain sight

 

To attain a black belt in taekwondo, one needs to have mastered the martial art. Controversial private investigator Jane Mugo aka “Jane Bond” claims she has the revered taekwondo rank, never mind the fact that she struggles to throw a self-respecting kick or maintain her balance while at it.

Now, she says days after she was featured in a largely ridiculed BBC Africa Eye documentary, that viewers should erase the image of the comical moves she executed.

“That was on a lighter note actually,” she told Spice FM on Wednesday. 

And martial arts purists must have noted that she called it taekwondo in the BBC Africa Eye documentary and karate during the recent radio interview.

Ms Mugo now says the house she gave the BBC Africa Eye team a revealing tour of is only meant for her dogs and “I do not live there”, while the “private investigators” who were being trained and whipped – and whose identity was not concealed at all – are, well, actually not the investigators she uses. 

Kenyans had a field day with Ms Mugo’s documentary. Interestingly, BBC News Africa had turned off YouTube comments on the video, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the mounting criticism being recorded in writing.

Questionable credentials 

Ms Mugo’s credentials as a private investigator or “Spy Queen” were questioned, considering the professional and personal details she willingly revealed for a role that is meant to be discreet.

Some scenes in the documentary attracted the attention of critics, including men being whipped or trained in tough conditions, a dog named Hitler, security arrangements, tasting of food to make sure it is not poisoned and, of course, the poor attempt at martial arts moves.

Then there are the generous descriptions like “Kenya’s James Bond” , “training better than US Navy seals”, “I am the best/most wanted in the world” and so on. 

Added to this is the fact that Ms Mugo is a controversial character who has sometimes featured in Kenyan media for all the wrong reasons.

She, however, scoffs at those who have been making fun of her, saying she has no regrets about featuring in the documentary and has received considerable support.

On her Facebook page this week, she has been sharing clips of interviews that she has had with radio stations in Ghana and Nigeria, plus interviews with a number of local celebrities.

From the attention she is receiving, it appears that Ms Mugo – who said she was once a Catholic nun for five months before she quit – will gain more fame. Hopefully, she will also put in a bit more work on her taekwondo moves.