The mother of businesswoman Ann Njeri Njroge, who has been in the headlines for a week now over the contested ownership of a Sh17 billion oil shipment, says she is surprised to learn in the media that her firstborn daughter is filthy rich.
Pauline Wanjiru Njoroge is surprised because the last time she saw her daughter was close to six years ago.
That is not all. Ms Wanjiru, 71, has only been communicating with her daughter on the phone and the last they spoke was nearly four months ago.
“We normally talk on the phone when necessary; I have been praying that one day she will visit me. The last time she was here was more than five years ago. Almost six years now. She tells me that she has been very busy and I stopped asking her when she will come to visit me,” said Ms Wanjiru in an exclusive interview with Nation.Africa on Wednesday evening at Kianjege village in Githiga location, Githunguri constituency, Kiambu county.
Humble, two-bedroom wooden, house
In the compound is a humble, two-bedroom wooden, house that would cost about Sh500,000 to construct, a big contrast to the personal fortunes of her daughter who has cut the image of a successful business mogul with a global network of powerful contacts.
Businesswoman Ann Njeri Njoroge at the Mombasa Law Courts on November 14, 2023.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Widowed and ailing, Ms Wanjiru says the presence of three graves located just outside her compound troubles her so much.
“You have seen three graves there as you entered. I recently buried my brother-in-law after he was killed and dumped in a nearby river, the other two graves belong to my husband and another relative. I would love to meet my daughter whom you are asking me about,” Ms Wanjiru told this writer when asked what troubles her most.
Kianjege village, loosely translated to ‘a porcupine den’ in English is a sleepy village.
The main access to the village is the unmotorable Githunguri-Nyambare road whose construction has stalled for years. There are no functional street lights. The Nation team arrived at Ms Wanjiru’s homestead a few minutes to 7pm on Wednesday.
She was preparing supper alone when we entered her house. With a bowel of chopped kales spread on the table, she was homely and courteous.
She told Nation.Africa that her 55-year-old first-born daughter, Ann Njeri, dropped out of school at Form 1.
“Njeri was not good with books. What I know is that she is aggressive and a go-getter, and someone who loves a quiet life,” Ms Wanjiru says with hints of nostalgia on her face.
She says that her daughter, a mother of five, tried her hand in marriage but it didn’t work out.
Although Njeri’s mother speaks fondly about her relationship with her daughter, something seems amiss when asked whether she has directly enjoyed a share of the fortunes of her daughter and whether they keep in touch.
“To answer your question on whether she supports me financially or not, I would say she helps where she can and I have nothing personal about her. It is her money and I don’t even know whether she is rich or not. What I know is that she tells me she runs businesses in Dubai and Kenya but I cannot tell exactly what she does for a living,” Ms Wanjiru said.
Whether she is rich or not
“Another thing is that you can tell whether your son or daughter is successful if he or she visits you or you visit where she or he lives, and you assess whether she is doing well in life or not, but like I told you, it is almost six years when I last saw her, so it is hard to say whether she is rich or not,” Ms Wanjiru says.
The mother of four told Nation.Africa that she learnt of her daughter’s disappearance on Friday last week through the media.
She shows us copies of the Daily Nation newspaper that he has been buying to follow the story of her daughter’s disappearance and eventual release by alleged kidnappers.
Ms Njeri had reportedly gone missing after recording a statement with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Thursday last week in Nairobi.
She would later resurface at the Mombasa Law Courts accompanied by her lawyer, Cliff Ombeta.
Woman linked to Sh17bn diesel mystery found safe in Mombasa
On Monday the Kenya Ports Authority had accused Ms Njeri of forging documents, with the aim of stealing fuel from the government.
Kenya Ports Authority maintains that the rightful shipper of the consignment is Aramco Trading Fujairah, with the consignee being Galana Energies.
KPA says the said consignment of diesel belongs to Aramco Trading Fujairah which had been nominated by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum under the Government-to-Government oil import deal.
Ms Wanjiru maintains her daughter is innocent and that she has never been arrested before for any criminality, terming the latest incident as business rivalry.
