- Maria Mbeneka is the owner of Ghetto Radio Owner, the official Kenyan sheng station mainly targeting the youth
- She also served as the First Lady of Laikipia county
Maria Mbeneka is the wife of former Governor Ndiritu Mureithi and ex-First Lady of Laikipia County.
The iron lady is a partner at Kimani Kabucho Mbeneka & Company (KKM) Advocates law firm.
She is also the owner of Ghetto Radio Limited which owns urban radio station Ghetto Radio, a fan favourite for the youth in the country.
In this article, WoK takes a look at some of Maria’s career achievements, memberships, and business interests.
Education & Background
Maria holds a Bachelor of Social Legislation Degree BSL and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Maharashtra-India. She also holds a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
She is a trained Mediator and also holds a certificate from the Mediators Training Institute MTI. She undertook her Arbitration training with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is also a holder of FIDIC training certificate as well as the East Africa Institute.
Career
Maria boasts an illustrious career in law spanning over eighteen years.
In 2008, she served as the Secretary & CEO of the Athletic Kenya Disciplinary Committee, Athletics Kenya.
In 2010, Maria served at the Industrial Property Tribunal as a member and Vice-Chair at the court of first instance in matters of Intellectual property, patents, industrial designs and utility models/technovations.
She is a former council member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) share she served as the Treasurer & General Member Representative from 2018 to 2020. She is also the immediate former Vice President of the East Africa Law Society having served from 2016 to 2018.
Maria has previously served as a member of the Industrial Property Tribunal from 2010-2013.
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While serving at the LSK she convened the ICT/IP Committee which took on Public Interest Litigation such as the NIIMS Petition, the Housing Levy Petition of 2018, consultative and public participation forums on Data Protection among other initiatives.
She also served as the Chair of the LSK Annual Conference Committee for the period 2018-2020.
In 2016, Maria also served at the Young Women Leadership Institute, Nairobi Advisory Board Member – Oversight formulation and implementation of policies and strategies for the organization.
Memberships
She is a council member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) representing East Africa and Seychelles.
Maria is also the Chairperson of the County First Ladies Association (Kenya) and the First Lady of Laikipia County.
Maria Mbeneka is also a life member of the Kenya Red Cross Society where she serves as a member of the Election Grievances Committee.
Publications
She has written articles, been quoted and featured in the Daily Nation; She has also been featured and in the Nairobi Law Monthly, the East African, The Star among other local and regional publications.
County Role
As ex-first lady of Laikipia County, Maria invested in various projects within the county, mostly revolving around women and youth empowerment.
She is involved in various occasions across the County aimed at the Socio-Economic empowerment of the women of Laikipia.
Maria is dedicated to the creation of safe spaces for youth geared towards inclusive and integrated programs for youth empowerment.
She launched the Hongera Mama Kit Initiative, a gift pack with fit-for-purpose predefined supplies issued to expectant mothers who choose to deliver within health facilities in Laikipia County after completing four recommended ANC visits and are registered with Linda Mama.
As an incentive towards skilled delivery, Maria rolled out the ‘supen e Ndiritu’ program, (a goat per delivery) to encourage traditional birth attendants to refer and accompany pregnant women to deliver in Government facilities. This program is tailor-made for Laikipia North Constituency where home deliveries are very common.
Ghetto Radio
Maria is the Chairperson of Ghetto Radio, a youth empowered urban media House started in 2007 to give voice to the urban youth.
Today, Ghetto Radio is recognized as the official sheng station in Kenya with a massive audience that includes the youth and those who have the interest of the youth at heart, including parents with a passion for all matters affecting the youth.
The media house is famed for its multiple efforts in championing youth reforms and supporting upcoming youths, along with several empowerment groups in the country.
