Comedian Timothy Njuguna with Celestine Ndinda during the United States Embassy to Kenya celebrating America’s Independence Day on June 8, 2024, at the Ambassador’s Tate House Residence in Nairobi.
A third-year male student was eyeing a first-year female student and decided to use a friend to get to her. The friend, rather than the targeted girl, ended up being his girlfriend.
Confusing? Well, actor Timothy Kimani, alias Njugush, then a third-year student at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), had developed an interest in a first-year student at the same institution. That lady had friends, and one of them was Celestine Ndinda, aka Wakavinye.
Njugush said in a 2020 interview that he considered Wakavinye to be out of his league, but he believed that by establishing a rapport with her, he would win her friend over.
“She was just a nice lady, but I wanted her friend because she (Celestine) was way out of my league,” said Njugush.
One day, the girl Njugush was pursuing and lost her phone, and she used Wakavinye’s phone to reach out to Njugush.
Later that night, Njugush sent a good night message, and Wakavinye wrote back to ask whether the message was meant for her or the friend.
“When she asked that, I fell into temptation and said, ‘It’s yours,’” Njugush told local blog Uliza Links in a February 2020 YouTube video. “And that’s how we started being friends.”
Before long, the two started dating.
He was studying to be a journalist while she was undergoing training on how to operate studio machinery.
“At KIMC, I was very serious. But I was also doing drama, and that overtook my passion for journalism,” Njugush told Churchill Show in May 2020.
In 2013, Njugush was living in a modest house, and slept on the floor because he didn’t have a bed, just a mattress.
“We slept on the floor from 2013 to nearly 2015,” said Njugush.
Speaking with the Saturday magazine in March 2025, Wakavinye said Njugush’s charm drew her to him.
“I honestly don’t know what I saw in Timo (Njugush) when we started dating while in college. But one thing for sure I know is that he was always fun to be around. He always had top-tier vibes until we found ourselves dating. Timo never asked me to be his girlfriend,” she said.
Njugush and Celestine “Wanavinye”
The years passed, and their fortunes changed. Njugush was taking part in a KIMC play when creatives Abel Mutua and Phil Karanja, who were scouting for talent, noticed him.
He writes in his 2024 memoir that the two would later include him in “The Real Househelps of Kawangware”, which catapulted him to national television and eventually to stardom.
After years of hardship, where they remember cooking using the pungent kerosene stove, the money started trickling in.
Months later, they ventured into content creation, with Wakavinye managing Njugush.
“I tried a 9-5 job, and I couldn’t keep up. I worked at a consultancy firm, and it was overwhelming. It's hectic being my husband's manager because there is a thin line between being a wife and a manager, which demands a lot of discipline from us. But I do love it that way,” Wakavinye told the Saturday magazine.
They prospered together, got two sons, ran the successful “Through Thick and Thin” show, bagged numerous brand marketing deals, entered into various investments, including matatu business, and generated what is called “couple goals” in common parlance.
And so, when rumours started swirling around that they were estranged, many wished it were fake news. But it wasn’t. Earlier this week, Njugush issued a statement saying they had gone their separate ways.
“Last year, we made the decision to part ways after much thought and with mutual respect,” it read. “We have been co-parenting and our children remain our top priority. We continue to support one another and kindly ask for privacy and understanding as we navigate this next chapter.”
The break-up offers various lessons.
Comedian Njugush during an interview.
1. No marriage is perfect
Go through social media, and you will be surprised by the number of people expressing shock that the two, who were for all intents a perfect couple, had now gone asunder.
“We are mourning as a nation,” one lady said in an Instagram comment.
This is because they appeared great. A March 2019 article in the Buzz magazine, under the headline “celebrities banking on love”, explained how they became darlings of the public.
“Not only does the couple make people laugh, but Timothy’s constant heartfelt messages and gestures of appreciation on social media to his wife make many people feel warm and fuzzy….Together, they’re a wonder-duo of laughter and love, and are constantly spreading both,” the article said.
However, from as far back as six years, the two had been giving indications that theirs wasn’t a bed of roses.
In the February 2020 interview with Uliza Links, Njugush said: “We are just ordinary people. We clash and face family issues.”
Wakavinye added that despite the storms, the hardships they had gone through had taught them to stick together.
“Right now, there are situations we go through and we are like, ‘This is not even tough. We have been through tougher times.’ So, we are like, ‘If we faced that and saw it through, will this not end?’
When he spoke with Buzz magazine in September 2020, Njugush also opened a window into their marriage, saying: “Disagreement is part and parcel of any marriage. We do have our bad days. The solution is to resolve the matter as soon as possible. That’s what I do.”
The rise and rise of Timothy 'Njugush' Kimani to comedy genius.
2. It’s the woman facing more insults
Go through the comments underneath the break–up post made by Njugush, you will notice that Wakavinye is enduring more insults. Her name has been distorted to demean her, rumours about what she did have been bandied about, among other attacks.
The turn of events confirms a 1994 paper published by Sage under the “Cultural Sociology of Divorce” which said: “Women suffer more consequences of divorce than men do, especially in patriarchal societies where male dominance is still evident.”
Comedian Timothy ‘Njugush’ Kimani.
3. Life goes on
Despite all the chatter, content creation goes on for Njugush and Wakavinye. Njugush has posted at least four videos on his “Blessed Njugush” Instagram handle while Wakaviye has posted at least two since they announced their separation.
Njugush is still advertising various brands, and there is even a lady acting as his partner in a video he posted on Thursday. This made someone ask him on Instagram: “Why is she calling you ‘babe’? Even if it’s content, not this week.”
Meanwhile, the sixth edition of “Through Thick and Thin”, scheduled for August 1 at Sarit Centre, is still being promoted on Njugush’s Instagram page. The show, from inception, was designed to be a stand-up comedy performance featuring the couple.
4. Separation statements are gaining currency in Kenya
We saw it with the separation between Kate Actress (Catherine Kamau) and Director Phil (Philip Karanja). We also saw it with musician King Kaka and Nana Owiti. Their parting ways was put out in statements, brief but final.
In those statements, just as the one issued by Njugush, one element featured prominently: the plans to co-parent amicably.
Comedian YY and actress Marya also let the world know of their separation through a statement, as did content creator Mulamwah and Ruth K.
Comedian Njugush and his wife Celestine Ndinda pose with their new investment, a matatu they have named Tugi after their first-born son.
5. Should men keep their women away from the limelight and at a lower position?
Many observers have theorised that if Njugush kept Wakavinye away from the public eye, perhaps the outcome would have been different. They have cited recent high-profile separations, including that of tour entrepreneurs Simon and Sarah Kabu, as proof that marriages are more stable when they are kept out of the limelight.
Media personality Andrew Kibe, weighing in on the Njugush-Wakavinye separation, argued that the problem arises with empowering women.
The Iko Nini YouTube podcast on Wednesday was of the opinion that the exposure was the undoing.
“The first mistake was to do with these relationships that are exposed on social media and are open to public scrutiny,” said podcast co-host Zaq, who argued that the success Njugush and Wakavinye achieved might have introduced toxicity.
“The fact that you grow to be public figures sometimes doesn’t sit well with one [party],” he added.
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