A week after the unexpected marital chasm between Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua and Lillian Nganga, the politician has decided to assuage his cupid-induced pain by holding a lavish birthday party.
The presidential aspirant shares a birthday with Tanzanian singer Raymond Shaban Mwakyusa, known by his craft name as Rayvanny.
The announcement, meant to excite the public, instead received backlash on social media with a cross-section of netizens casting aspersions at his leadership priorities.
The concerned Kenyans questioned Mutua’s decision to hold a lavish event when his constituents still struggle with basic needs.
Gladys Mueni: “Welcome to Kenya where Governors hold a press conference on their birthdays than delivering what they promised their countrymen.”
Mbaluka: “This is what you have subjected us to we people of Muthwani, especially Githunguri and Kinka where the road is pathetic and impassable.”
Others wondered why the legislator had to cross the borders to get an entertainer for his event when Kenya has several artists, some of them struggling to make ends meet since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
News of his separation from a woman he publicly referred to as the love of his life continues to elicit mixed reactions.
The pair were the epitome of the perfect couple. That was until “winds of change” -according to her Instagram post -blew Lillian’s way recently, and she brought their eight-year glitzy romance to a deafening halt, resigning as the county in the same controversial manner in which she became the Governor’s consort.
Lillian, ostensibly was many things to many people, depending on who you talk to in Machakos county.
“She had her husband’s ear. And we had to do everything to be in her good books. If she did not like you, your goose was as good as cooked,” revealed a county government official who described Lillian as a warm lady but also a bully when she chose.
According to the Nairobian, Lilian, accumulated so much power that even senior county government officers trembled when they sniffed her designer perfume in the air.
And while most County First ladies are old, laid back matrons in Vitenges and tired wigs, Lilian rolled in fuel guzzlers, her face hidden behind expensive designer goggles and with a band of armed men in tow and chase cars blaring horns.
Lillian’s convoy in Machakos town and its environs left locals awestruck.
Oftentimes, her security detail would clear the road for her as she moved from one point to another to attend to numerous chores in the spirit of her husband’s Maendeleo chap chap.
When she burst into the scene soon after Mutua was sworn in as governor in 2013, little was known about her.
After primary school, Lillian joined Thogoto Girls High School after which she tried her hand in modeling.
Later, she pursued a course in front office and hotel management at the University of Nairobi.
She briefly worked at the Safari Park Hotel and later at Kenya Airways where she stayed for six years.
She also entered into the Salon and Beauty parlor business which she later gave up and ventured into Tour and Travel. Mutua helped her establish Lillian Ng’ang’a Foundation ostensibly to engage in charity work.
The governor was in the middle of a messy divorce from his first wife, Josephine Thitu, who, after severing ties with Mutua, took a flight to Australia together with their three children.
Thitu is a pharmaceuticals services systems specialist with 17 years of experience, she holds a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of Washington, the same institution where she earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) in 1993.
She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from Purdue University in 2006. Thitu has worked in leading health institutions and technical assistance organizations in Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the USA. Dr. Thitu has combined training in clinical pharmacy and public health and has been the program director for Afya Afrique (www.afyaafrique.org), health systems strengthening consultant group based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Thitu is also the founding director of Machakos Women Foundation (www.machakoswomen.com). Prior to Afya Afrique, Dr. Thitu was the Deputy Chief of Party, Pharmaceutical Services for the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) program of Management Sciences of Health (MSH)
Through public activities, Lillian became conspicuous across the county and in the process created an aura of power, authority, and influence. That, coupled with her flashy lifestyle, sense of fashion, and bewitching looks sent echoes of a modern-day Imelda Marcos.
As the ultimate mark of their love, the governor built a hotel in Machakos town and named it A&L, initials for their names Alfred and Lillian.
Before their separation, Lillian had on several occasions kept away from public events hosted by her husband, fueling speculation that their candy love had gone sour.
At about the same time, keen observers recall pictures of Mutua on holiday in Dubai, striding on the desert sand, seemingly in deep thought. That Lillian has deleted most photos the couple took together from her social media pages means, It’s over.
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