Not much is known about UDA-nominated senator Karen Nyamu’s early childhood, but the same cannot be said about her adult life.
Being a senator “without portfolio”, the queen of controversy has made it her business to serve relationship drama left, right and centre as other senators serve their constituents.
In the lead up to this year’s elections, Ms Nyamu had promised that, if elected, Nairobians would feel the impact of the work of her leadership and hasn’t she literally been on our faces with “her work”.
When the Eastlands-born senator is not strutting the corridors of Parliament Buildings, the outspoken lawyer and politician is most probably doing what she is best at: airing her dirty linen in public. “I don’t fear controversy. Controversy always follows me,” the mother of three says.
And true to that, the list of controversies for the self-confessed family black sheep has not disappointed.
The recent drama in Dubai with her baby daddy, Mugithi singer Samuel Muchoki, alias Samidoh, is just one of the episodes in her never-ending relationship drama series.
Verily, verily, I tell you, causing scenes is the self-proclaimed “Bae wa Nairobi’s” portion. You can never take that away from her and she is not apologetic about it.
In a past interview, she confessed that while sitting her KCSE exams at Limuru Girls, she was suspended after being found guilty, alongside other girls, of “playing mischief” in the school kitchen.
And it seems she has not gotten over the habit of “playing mischief” if her back-and-forth drama with Samidoh’s wife, Edday Nderitu, over the Mugithi maestro, is anything to go by.
Quoting Krispah’s ‘Ndovu Ni Kuu’ song instead of Senate Standing Orders or the Constitution, the Umoja 1 born said: “Don’t worry…niko na kila kitu. Kitu sinanga ni haya.”
Give it to her, this is a rare honesty from a Kenyan politician. It will go down the annals of history that a Kenyan politician once spoke the truth.
But just like all other politicians, Ms Nyamu just doesn’t know how to stay away from controversy. Their mantra is, any publicity is good publicity. The controversies range from smoking bhang in public, making a twerking video to dating wealthy, controversial men.
In 2019, she made headlines for publicly puffing bhang and passing it round during the finals of the annual Koth Biro football tournament at Umeme Grounds in Ziwani.
As if that was not provocative enough, she went the extra mile to create a twerking video to prove that she can wine her waist and shake what her mama gave her.
Not long after, she was again at it causing another scene after failing to clear a bill at the Manor 540 restaurant in Nairobi’s Westlands.
The second born in a family of four children blamed the Dubai fracas on alcohol. She has now vowed to ditch the bottle as part of her 2023 resolutions.
Just like Kenyan singer Kushman sang, the UDA politician is quitting alcohol until “father a notice” but not her baby daddy, Samidoh.
Don’t touch that dial, drama queen is at your service and you will be served drama “bila haya”.
Karen Njeri Nyamu was born in the early 1980s in Umoja 1 Estate in Nairobi’s Eastlands to a civil engineer father while her mother was an Early Childhood Education teacher.
She started her schooling at Riverbank Primary School in Nairobi’s Ngara area before joining Kamuthatha Boarding Primary in Embu then later Limuru Girls for her secondary education. After her KCSE exams, she was admitted to the University of Nairobi, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law before joining the Kenya School of Law, where she read for a diploma in law. She also holds a master’s degree in International Relations.
She has practised as an advocate through her law firm, Njeri Nyamu and Co. Advocates, before coming to the limelight after she unsuccessfully vied for the Nairobi Woman Representative seat in 2017 under the tag “Bae wa Nairobi”.
