Ngina Muhoho (born June 24, 1933) was the daughter of Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha, a prominent Kikuyu leader.
The two met in the early 1950s at Githunguri Teachers Training College in Kiambu, where Kenyatta served as principal and Ngina was a student.
At the time, Kenyatta was a widower with children from prior marriages (to Grace Wahu, Edna Clarke, and Grace Wanjiku).
They married in 1951 when Ngina was 18. The union had political significance, linking Kenyatta to Ngina's influential family.
It was Kenyatta's fourth marriage, conducted under Kikuyu customary law.
Shortly after the wedding, in October 1952, Kenyatta was arrested by British authorities on charges related to the Mau Mau uprising.
Ngina, pregnant at the time, visited him in prison despite colonial harassment. Their first child, Christine Wambui Kenyatta (born 1952), was delivered during his detention.
Kenyatta was imprisoned until 1961 and then exiled to remote areas like Lodwar and Maralal.
Ngina joined him in exile, raising their family in difficult conditions. Additional children included Uhuru Kenyatta (born 1961), Muhoho Kenyatta (born 1963), and Anna Nyokabi Muthama (born 1965).
Ngina also acted as stepmother to Kenyatta's older children, such as Peter Muigai, Margaret Kenyatta, and Jane Wanjiku.
After Kenya's independence in 1963, Kenyatta became prime minister (1963) and president (1964).
Ngina served as First Lady, supporting public initiatives like the Kenyan Girl Guides (patron from 1965). She managed family and household matters amid Kenyatta's polygamous setup.
Kenyatta died on August 22, 1978. Ngina, then 45, continued as a family matriarch. Their son Uhuru served as Kenya's president from 2013 to 2022.
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