Margaret Kenyatta (born 8 April, 1964) is a 59-years-old Kenyan educator who served as First Lady of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. She is the wife of Uhuru Kenyatta, the fourth President of the Republic of Kenya, with whom she has three children: Jomo Uhuru Kenyatta, Jaba Uhuru Kenyatta, and Ngina Uhuru Kenyatta. She is also the daughter of a Kenyan father, Njuguna Gakuo, and a German mother, Magdalena.
As subtle as Margaret Kenyatta is in discharging her duties, she commands a great deal of respect in the country. Many have described her as the powerhouse of Uhuru Kenyatta who was Kenya’s president from 2013 to 2022.
She is the 3rd Kenyan first lady, after Lucy Kibaki and Ngina Kenyatta and the 2nd first lady from the Kenyatta family.
You’ll get to know more about the much-loved Kenyan first lady in this article. We’ll also bring to light her parents, children, and other interesting facts that are relatively unknown.
Margaret Kenyatta Biography
Margaret Gakuo Kenyatta was born Margaret Wanjiru Gakuo on April 8, 1964. Her father, Dr Ephantus Njuguna Gakuo worked for a long time in the development of Kenyan Railways and was the first African managing director of Kenya Railways after taking over from GPG Mackay in 1964.
Prior to his committed services to the Railways, he lectured for three years at Delhi University. Dr Gakuo obtained his BA and MA degrees in Commerce from the Delhi School of Business in 1955. He obtained a PhD in Economics from Freiberg University in 1960.
Dr Gakuo taught for a year in Germany before returning to his home country – not just with his doctorate degree but also with a German wife – Magdallena – who would become the mother of Margaret and his brother, Maina Gakuo. Margaret lost her father in 2005.
Margaret Kenyatta is an alumnus of Kianda School, St. Andrews School (an elite school in Molo), Turi and Kenyatta University.
Her Family
Margaret is just a simple but powerful personality whose skills and charisma are tagged the secret ingredients for Uhuru’s successful campaigns. The most striking characteristics of Margaret is her down to earth and simple personality.
Uhuru and Margaret Kenyatta were high school friends who later became a couple in 1989. In a live chat on his official Facebook page, Uhuru revealed while answering questions from Kenyans, that he first met Margaret through her older brother Maina Gakuo.
They later started off a relationship and finally got married in 1991, at Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi. From 2013 to date, they have been Kenya’s first family.
Together they have three children- Jomo Uhuru Kenyatta, Jaba Uhuru Kenyatta, and Ngina Uhuru Kenyatta. The Kenyattas are considered one of Africa’s power couples. They became grandparents a day before Uhuru’s inauguration.
Meet Her Children
Margaret’s first child with Uhuru, Jomo, is married to his long-time girlfriend Fiona Achola Ngobi, the beautiful granddaughter of the late Luo political giant, Dr William Odongo Omamo. She is of Luo, Kikuyu and Ugandan ancestry and works as an accountant at a local bank.
He had his education at Hilton College and Michael House in KwaZulu Natal Midlands in South Africa.
Uhuru’s second son, Jaba Muhoho has his own clothing line in major towns in some African countries. Like his mother, he has a very special fashion sense that helped him win the 2014 Showcase Designer of the Year award in the Emerging Designer category during the Nairobi Expo.
Margaret’s only daughter Ngina was named after her paternal grandmother, Mama Ngina Kenyatta. She has a degree in international relations and politics but serves as the director of the Kenyatta Foundation.
She’s already following in her father’s steps as she’s often spotted together with him. Ngina also loves partying and spending with her friends and cousins.
A supportive mother and wife to President Uhuru Kenya, Margaret accompanied her husband to Hague when he was facing the charges against humanity after 2007/2008 post-election violence. This move earned her admiration from many Kenyans and Uhuru’s supporters around the world.
Quick Facts
- Margaret Kenyatta’s father-in-law, Jomo Kenyatta, was Kenya’s founding father and the first president of the Republic of Kenya. He served as the president of the East Africa country from 1964 to 1978.
- On the humanitarian level, Margaret passionately campaigns for a lesser child mortality rate in Kenya; this earned her 2014, UN person of the year.
- The amiable Kenyan first lady will be remembered for the Beyond Zero Campaign, a nationwide health initiative but most targeted for mothers in the grassroots. It was launched on January 24, 2014, to improve the maternal and child health care/outcomes in the country.
- Her Beyond Zero Campaign has so far raised funds for over 30 mobile clinics in Kenya.
- Margaret’s dedication to the Beyond Zero campaign is rooted in her own past pain of losing a baby about 2 decades ago. The Kenyan first family lost their second daughter immediately after childbirth.
- Kenyan first lady made history in 2014 when she became the first African First lady to complete a 42kilometress race.
- Margaret Kenyatta often makes a fashion statement that is hard to ignore with her choice of simple but outstanding outfits. Be it a formal, semi-formal or informal occasion, the beautiful first lady is always classy. She has never suffered a wardrobe malfunction.
