The court drama Vioja Mahakamani was for a long time one of the most popular and educative program on television. It shed light on what transpires in a court of law albeit with a touch of humour. Lucy Wangui played the role of a no-nonsense magistrate for a period of over twenty years.
She has been a part of the show for over 30 years. Beyond the screen, she’s known for her warm and motherly demeanor, and has also spoken about the importance of managing finances and avoiding the celebrity poverty trap, according to Business Daily.
Lucy Wangui was born in Ziwani, Kariokor Nairobi. As she grew up she had always dreamed of being a nurse or a secretary, as was the notion that those were the only “Top paying and respectable jobs.” Wangui went on to pursue a secretarial course after which she landed a job at Elliot bakeries.
Before she got the role, which had been occupied by the late Ann Wanjugu, Lucy played different roles in the same show.
Wanjugu was the pioneer Vioja Mahakamani Principal Magistrate at its birth in the mid-70s and acted in it for several years before she left Kenya for the US to record shows in Hollywood.
Wangui’s recognition comes over a year after her successor in the legendary judge role, Jamal Nassul Gadafi, was stabbed to death in Machakos on December 11, 2018.
“This annual recognition has the impact of keeping standards of theatre high and as a result, a sustained and robust audience base,” Orido is quoted in the Daily Nation.
