Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, was a man of many marriages, with four wives – Grace Wahu, Edna Clarke, Grace Wanjiku and Mama Ngina – and several children. His most prominent offspring was his son, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is currently serving his second term in office. He was born to Kenyatta’s fourth and youngest wife, Mama Ngina, in 1961 and was named “Uhuru” to signify the arrival of independence, which was achieved two years later.
Uhuru was raised at State House and received a privileged education at Saint Mary’s School in Nairobi and later at Amherst College in Massachusetts where he studied political science and economics.
He has a long political career, starting as chairman of the Gatundu branch of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and serving as a Member of Parliament and Minister for Local Government under retired President Daniel arap Moi. He was KANU’s candidate for president in 2002, but lost to opposition leader Mwai Kibaki. In 2013, he succeeded Kibaki on a The National Alliance (TNA) ticket.
Kenyatta’s other children include Peter Muigai Kenyatta, who was born in 1920 and was a prominent businessman and politician. Margaret Rose Wambui Kenyatta, born in 1928, was the first and only female mayor of Nairobi and served as Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme. Peter Magana Kenyatta, Kenyatta’s only child with his second wife Edna, is a resident of London and had a career in broadcasting with the BBC.
Grace Wanjiku was Kenyatta’s third wife and was the daughter of a colonial senior chief, Koinange wa Mbiyu. She died during childbirth, giving birth to her only child, Jane ‘Jeni’ Wambui Gecaga. Christine Wambui Kenyatta, now Kristina Pratt, was born in 1952 and is the first child of Kenyatta and Mama Ngina. She has established several facilities for the disabled in Kenya and is married with four children.
Kenyatta’s only known sibling was James Muigai, who was the first boy to be enrolled at Alliance High School in Kikuyu.
He was the father of Ngengi Muigai, who inherited Kenyatta’s estate after his death. Muhoho Kenyatta, Uhuru’s younger brother, operates the Kenyatta family’s extensive business holdings, including the Heritage Hotels, Mediamax Group, Commercial Bank of Africa, and Brookside Dairy. Anna Nyokabi Muthama, Uhuru’s sister, was born in 1963 and is married in Makueni County. Not much else is known about her.
