| Lucy Kibaki | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Kenya | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 29, 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Ngina Kenyatta1 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lucy Muthoni Kibaki 1940 Mukurwe-ini |
| Spouse(s) | Mwai Kibaki (m. 1962) |
| Children | Judy Wanjiku, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai, and Tony Githinji. |
| Residence | Nairobi, Kenya |
| 1. Ngina retained her First Lady status even after the death of her husband in 1978, as incoming President Daniel arap Moi had separated from his wife in 1974 | |
Lucy Muthoni Kibaki (Born 1940[1]) is the wife of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, making her the First Lady of Kenya.
She is a controversial figure in Kenya, due to her independent persona and her temper.
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She was born in Mukurwe-ini to the Rev. John Kagai and Rose Nyachomba, in the Mount Kenya. She was educated at Alliance Girls High School,[2] then trained as a teacher, and rose up to the post of principal in a teacher-training college in Kiambu. She met Mwai Kibaki in 1960. After a two-year romance, the couple married in 1962. They have four children: Judy Wanjiku, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai, and Tony Githinji. Mrs. Kibaki is a patron of the Kenya Girl Guides Association.[3]
In 2005 she received international media attention when she stormed into World Bank country director Makhtar Diop's house, demanding that he turn his music down during a private party. The following evening, she walked into a police station and demanded that Diop and his guests be arrested for disturbing the peace. Two days later, she stormed into the offices of the Nation Media Group (publishers of The Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper) with six bodyguards, and demanded that the reporter who had written about her confrontation with Diop be arrested, slapped a cameraman who was filming her, and refused to leave until the following day.[1][4]
In May 2006, she created more controversy by stating that young people in Kenya had "no business" using condoms. Lucy Kibaki called on students at a school prize-giving to abstain from sex in order to avoid infection with HIV.
On 12 December 2007 she slapped a government official who confused her name with that of Mary Wambui, a woman who has been reported as being the president's second wife. Lucy Kibaki slapped the Government Principle Administrative Secretary after he referred to her as "Wambui" during a presidential awards ceremony, independent NTV reported.
The Government Principal Administrative Secretary, Francis Musyimi, immediately stopped officiating at the ceremony at the State House in Nairobi and was whisked away by the security force, NTV. Musyimi doubles as the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet.[5][6]
In January 2008, a Kenyan Member of Parliament for Imenti Central Gitobu Imanyara accused Lucy Kibaki of assault and threatened to move to court to sue The First Lady over the alleged incident. She quickly denied the allegations, accusing Imanyara of attempted blackmail after failing to secure the deputy Speaker's seat during the elections in Parliament. .[7]
Mrs Kibaki is known for supporting disadvantaged and disabled people.[8] She chairs the Organization of the 40 African First Ladies Against HIV/Aids.[8]