Born to Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha in Kenya’s Kiambu District, Central Province, Ngina is known for her strong Roman Catholic beliefs. She attends Mass every Sunday, often with her children. Her brother, Monsignor George Muhoho, is the Roman Catholic chaplain at the University of Nairobi.
In 1951, Ngina married Jomo Kenyatta, becoming his third wife. The union was characterized as a “gift” from the Kikuyu ethnic group, leading to her being dubbed the “mother of the nation,” or Mama Ngina. Jomo was first married to Grace Wahu in 1919, Edna Clarke in 1942, and Grace Wanjiku in 1946.
Ngina made her mark on the country during her husband’s lengthy term (December 1964 to December 2002). Several streets in Nairobi and Mombasa, as well as a children’s home, are named after her.
Ngina has four children of her own, including Kenya’s current president, Uhuru Kenyatta. She has two daughters, Kristina Wamboi and Anna Nyokabi, as well as another son, Muhoho, who runs the family business. Ngina also became stepmother to her husband’s other three children, two by his first wife and one by his second.
Peter Muigai Ngengi, the only surviving brother of Jomo Kenyatta, sued Ngina along with President Uhuru Kenyatta, for wrongfully taking his three-and-a-half acres in Gatundu, Kaimbu County, in 2012. Ngengi alleged that Ngina and her son took his land to expand their home after the death of Jomo Kenyatta. A judge has set the ruling date for February 2015.
In 1953, Jomo Kenyatta was convicted of helping to organize the Mau Mau Rebellion and was exiled from Kenya. He was sent to prison until 1959, and was later sent to Lodwar, a remote part of Kenya. During this time, Ngina stayed with her husband, along with her daughters, Jane and Wamboi.
During her husband’s presidency, Ngina and several other high-profile government officials were allegedly involved in an ivory-smuggling ring. According to a report in the 1975 “New Scientist,” Ngina helped arrange for ivory tusks to be transported out of the country on state planes. The claims could not be verified, however, and she was never formally charged with a crime.
Though the majority of her wealth is undeclared, Ngina’s interests in banking, farming, education, insurance, hospitality, manufacturing, and real estate have earned her billions of dollars. The exact amount is unknown, but she is ranked as the third-richest woman in Africa with well over $1 billion, after Angola’s Isabel Dos Santos and Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija.
In 2013, Ngina was ranked on Africa’s billionaire list with 54 other people, including two other Kenyans — Naushad Merali and Manu Chandaria. The current President Kenyatta didn’t make the list, despite the fact that he was named to Forbes Magazine’s African rich list in 2011, leading many to think he has transferred some of his wealth to his family.
Ngina owns the lion’s share of the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), one of the largest privately owned banks in Kenya. She also owns Brookside Dairies, the leader in the East African dairy industry with a market share that reaches to the Middle East, along with several plantations and ranches.
Ngina, 80, continues to grow her wealth. Her son, Muhoho, conducts the bulk of her business. She owns a large chain of Heritage hotels, as well as a 500-acre development in Northlands City on the outskirts of Nairobi, said to be the largest gated community in the region.
Today, Ngina lives quietly with her wealth in Kenya, choosing to remain out of media spotlight despite her son’s position as the country’s president. She makes an annual pilgrimage each August to visit her husband’s mausoleum.
