Margaret Wambui Kenyatta, who was the first woman mayor of Nairobi and the eldest daughter of Kenya’s first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta is dead.
Margaret, as she was fondly referred, the sister to President Uhuru Kenyatta died in Nairobi aged 89 years.
Born in 1928 to Mzee Kenyatta and his first wife, Grace Nyokabi Wahu , Margaret was the only daughter and one of the two children of the first head of the nation with his first wife. Her brother was Peter Muigai.
Margaret first made a name for herself when in 1969, she was elected the deputy mayor of Nairobi and two years later, she was elected the mayor, thus becoming the first African woman to become mayor of Kenya’s capital city and the second African woman mayor in the country. Mrs Grace Onyango became the first African female mayor in Kenya when she was elected to head Kisumu in 1965.
Margaret’s tenure as Nairobi mayor was marked by many developmental programs, including expansion of the subways, the building of low-cost housing and sewerage, and the expansion of public health facilities.
Margaret’s first priorities, however, remained women, children, and education, which she viewed as the hope for Kenya’s future.