Ngina Kenyetta is the former First Lady of Kenya, widow of Mzee Jomo Kenyetta (the first president of Kenya), the mother of Uhuru Kenyetta (Kenya’s fourth president), and a recipient of the Macky Sall Prize for Dialogue in Africa (2019). She was born Ngina Muhoho on June 24, 1933, to Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha and Anne Nyokabi Muhoho at Ngenda, Kiambu District, Central Province in then British-controlled Kenya. She is known as Mama Ngina, the matriarch of the Kenyatta family.
The daughter of wealthy, politically influential Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha, Ngina became the fourth and last wife of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1952. The marriage had significant political benefits for Jomo Kenyetta due to her royal bloodline. The marriage also played a significant role in Ngina’s life as she was introduced through her husband’s arrest by British colonial authorities in 1952 to the evolving independence campaign in Kenya. She also served a jail term around 1957 for 5 years at Kamiti Maximum Prison because British authorities thought she was a supporter of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya. The courage and resilience displayed by Mama Ngina during her incarceration endeared her to other Kenyans who then were also working towards gaining independence.
After Kenya gained independence from the British on December 12, 1963, and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya a few months later in 1964, Mama Ngina became officially recognized as the First Lady of Kenya despite his marriage to three other women. Their union resulted in four children: Kristina Pratt Kenyetta, who now works as a disability advocate and ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s fourth president who served from 2013 to 2022, Muhoho Kenyatta (businessman and CEO of the Kenyan corporation, Brookside Dairy Limited, and Anna Nyokabi Muthama (Kenyan businesswoman and philanthropist).
Although Mzee Jomo Kenyatta passed away on August 22, 1978, Mama Ngina’s reputation and influence has remained impactful. She is a successful businesswoman and is now identified as one of the wealthiest individuals in Kenya. She has long been recognized as a political peacemaker because of her public dialogue designed to avert and diffuse conflict in Kenya in the years following her husband’s death and particularly during the bitter 2017 national elections. Her commitment to her family and to her nation allows her to remain an influential figure in independent Kenya.
