Jimi Richard Wanjigi (born in 1962) is a Kenyan businessman and political strategist. He is the chief executive officer of Kwacha Group of Companies, a privately held family office with interests in various sectors of the Kenyan economy including agri-business, financial services, industrials and real estate. He is however best known for being the key political strategist for Raila Odinga's 2017 election campaigns and the quiet force behind Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 election victory.

Early life and education

Wanjigi grew up around politics. His father, Maina Wanjigi served as a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in Kenya's first two cabinets. He never went to University

Career

Business

He is currently the chief executive officer of Kwacha Group of Companies, a privately held family office with interests in various sectors of the Kenyan economy including agri-business, financial services, industrials and real estate. Jimi is a serial entrepreneur whose formal career in business begun in his early twenties when, after returning from University, he co-founded Kenya's first private garbage collection company, BINS Limited.

Political history

Jimi Wanjigi's alliance with politics started in 1992 during Kenya's first multi-party elections, where at a relatively young age, he got involved in

Kenneth Matiba Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 – 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy. He came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election. In November 2007, he announced that he would stand as a president ...

's election campaign. Wanjigi remained actively in politics behind the scenes during the years to come. He maintained a close friendship with the former vice president of Kenya

George Saitoti George Musengi Saitoti, E.G.H. (3 August 1945 – 10 June 2012) was a Kenyan politician, businessman and American- and British-trained economist, mathematician and development policy thinker. As a mathematician, Saitoti served as Head of the ...

until his death in June 2012. Following the death of Professor Saitoti in 2012, Jimmy moved his support to

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

and

William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966) is a Kenyan politician who is serving as the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the 11th deputy president of Ken ...

for the presidency during the

2013 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya on 4 March 2013. Voters elected the President, members of the National Assembly and newly formed Senate. They were the first elections held under the new constitution, which was approved in a 2010 referendum ...

. He played a pivotal role in brokering the alliance between Ruto's

United Republican Party (Kenya) The United Republican Party (URP) was a political party in Kenya. History The party was launched by William Ruto, in conjunction with several Kenyan politicians allied to a faction of Orange Democratic Movement opposed to Raila Odinga, as their ...

and Kenyatta's

The National Alliance The National Alliance (TNA) was a political party in Kenya. It took on its current identity when Uhuru Kenyatta assumed control and renamed it as the vehicle for his 2012 presidential campaign. History The National Alliance was founded as the ...

in 2012, leading to a joint ticket under what is now the

Jubilee Party The Jubilee Party of Kenya was the ruling political party of the Republic of Kenya from 2016 until 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee ...

. He reportedly brokered the peace between

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

and

in the aftermath of the

. In 2017, he shifted his political support to

, causing a public fall out between Wanjigi and President

. This led to severe backlash against Wanjigi from the state including a travel blockade, a dramatic 3 day assault by the Kenyan police on his

Muthaiga Muthaiga is an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. In 2019, media reports indicated that it was the most affluent and most expensive neighbourhood in the entire country. Location Muthaiga is located approximately , by road, north of ...

home and politically motivated charges being brought against him and his octogenarian father. The charges were eventually thrown out by the courts. In February 2018, a fake obituary of Wanjigi ran in the

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

, in what was viewed as a politically motivated death threat. He sued the media house and was awarded Shs. 8million in damages.

Personal life

Jimi is a son to former Kamukunji MP, and Cabinet Minister Maina Wanjigi. He's an alumnus of

St. Mary's School, Nairobi Saint Mary's School, commonly known as Saints, is a private Roman Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys located in Nairobi, Kenya. Administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi, the school offers KCPE, KCSE, IGCSE a ...

where his schoolmates included

and

Gideon Moi Gideon Kipsielei Towett Moi (born 22 October 1963) is a Kenyan politician and former senator of Baringo County, from 2013 to 2022. He was elected with a landslide win of over 80%, trouncing his opponent Jackson Kosgei. He is also the party leade ...

After leaving school he GRADUATED at Kiambu University where he studied business from 1982 - 1986. Following his NON-graduation he returned to Kenya to pursue a career in business. Jimi is married to Irene Nzisa, and their two children study at

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the canto ...

in Switzerland.

Political Ambitions

In mid 2021 Wanjigi announced that he would seek the Orange Democratic Movement's ticket to run for the Presidency of Kenya at the 2022 general election. His announcement is viewed as a challenge of party leader Raila Odinga's perceived automatic nomination to run on the Orange Democratic Movement's ticket, who has officially declared his 5th attempt to run for presidency. Wanjigi on the other hand who is running on a platform of bringing about an economic revolution, is a newcomer to elective politics and his candidature is likely to excite the Mount Kenya region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanjigi, Jimi Kenyan businesspeople Living people 1962 births Alumni of St. Mary's School, Nairobi York University alumni