- The late Lizzie Wanyoike was married for 25 years to Mburu Wanyoike before they went their separate ways
- She has two biological children and was a step-mom to three children
Social media platforms have been awash with messages of condolences following the death of Nairobi Institute Of Business Studies (NIBS) founder and owner of Emory Hotel Lizzie Wanyoike.
Lizzie Wanyoike On Meeting Husband
In a tell all interview on Lynn Ngugi Inspire Global segment, Lizzie recounted how she met her husband-Mr Mburu Wanyoike, who was Gatanga Member of Parliament between 1992 to 1997.
After her secretarial course, some Canadians came to their school hunting for people who had done business studies to take them to teach in high schools.
She went on to join Kenyatta College (now Kenyatta University) where she trained as a teacher. Immediately after her graduation, she found herself in a dilemma of either staying with her married sister who lived in a one-room or going back to the village
Both options were not attractive because she did not want to go back to her struggling parents.
Friend turned husband
Lizzie shared how a friend he had known for sometime told her that she would pick her after graduation. He first took her to YWCA hostel for two months and during this time he would take her out.
Their friendship turned romantic and she fell pregnant. The late former Gatanga MP took her to his parents home and that’s how she got married.
At the time she was only 22 and he was 16 years her senior. Her then husband had been in another marriage but they had separated.
He three had children from his previous relationship and Lizzie became their stepmother. In the interview with Lynn, she said her step-children are all grown up and they are still friends.
Mr Mburu also was a director of Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC).
Lizzie Wanyoike Separation
The mother of three was in that marriage for 25 years before they went their separate ways. According to Lizzie, they had nothing in common resulting in their breakup.
“We had nothing in common. We did not have the same interest and by this time I was grown up. By this time I was having my own dreams but we never fought. He was lonely in his own way because when we went out we had nothing to talk about,” she told Lynn.
She disputed claims that he cheated on her.
Only a girlfriend
Their relationship went burst as it got to a point her husband felt that they could not longer walk the journey of marriage together,
“I did not walk out. We got to a point and he felt that we could not continue. One day I came home and was not allowed through the gate. I tried pleading but no one would hear me. I only had my handbag and a car which was in my name. I left with nothing,” Lizzie told Kagoni.
Matters took a turn for the worst when she went to the courts to fight for her matrimonial property.
He showed up with a marriage certificate from his previous relationship and said Lizzie was just a girlfriend.
“When I went to court to fight for my matrimonial property, my late ex-husband showed up in court with a marriage certificate from his previous marriage. He told the court that I was only a girlfriend,” she said.
Her ex-husband passed on in 2018.
