Andrew Peter Ngirici is a Kenyan billionaire businessman and media entrepreneur. He is the husband to former Kirinyaga County Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici.
The businessman has recently made a name for himself as one of the wealthiest people in the country and a political power force. He funded the election of his wife.
Ngirici is also known for the flashy life he leads and the expensive collection of automobiles he owns.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background & Education
According to reports, the billionaire businessman only made it to Class Four before he dropped out of Kirigo Primary School.
None of his siblings attended secondary school and his two brothers eked a living doing manual jobs in Kerugoya town.
“Ngirici even attempted suicide by drinking some pesticide after his mother forced him back to school,’’ a family source told The Nairobian.
He is the son of Rachel Wanjiku and Mzee Muriu.
Struggle
The Standard in 2018 reported that Ngirici resorted to washing cars, operating donkey and luggage carts for Mzee Arthur Munyi in Kaitheri village, Kirinyaga County.
His mother later bought him a cart, with which he began to operate and earn his money. He also supplied beer crates in Kirinyaga for Mzee Munyi, earning an extra shlling.
Ngirici’s fortunes changed for the better when he met former government spy James Kanyotu who required his services.
Mzee Munyi passed on a few years later after he was involved in a road accident.
Kanyotu’s family and Ngirici’s family had a long history. Reports indicate that Ngirici’s grandfather offered shelter to Kanyotu’s father before. Kanyotu’s father would later buy land and settle in Kirinyaga after retirement.
Big Break
Kanyotu and Ngirici’s friendship grew, and later on, Kanyotu landed a job as a government spy in the Jomo Kenyatta government and later worked under former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Ngirici sold the portion of land allocated to him by his father to Kanyotu for Ksh780,000, money he used to buy two second-hand matatus.
“Using his newly found networks, Ngirici’s husband ventured into the transport business, investing in matatus and buses,” a source told a local daily in 2020.
Businesses
Learning from Kanyotu, Ngirici ventured into various sectors of the economy including real estate, media, large scale farming, mining, among others.
“Ngirici stood alone by Kanyotu’s hospital bed when he took his last breath and you can, therefore, see the degree of trust the former top spy had in him,’’ a neighbour who sought anonymity informed The Standard.
He is the owner of Mt Kenya TV and Iganjo FM. The media stations have frequencies in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Nyandarua, Meru, Kisumu and Kericho.
Family
Andrew and his wife, Wangui have children together. Their youngest son, is named Dean Ngirici.
Politics
Ngirici has had an active hand in the country’s politics. He funded his wife’s election campaign to a tune of millions.
He was her chief campaigner with their rallies marked by multi-million cars and choppers. Wangui won in the Jubilee nominations, ousting incumbent Winnie Karimi Njuguna. She was succesfully elected Kirinyaga County Woman Rep on August 8, 2017.
“When you see me here I come as Wangui’s supporter but when we get to our home, she is my wife and nothing short of this,” he stated during one of the campaigns.
Ngirici was also behind the campaign and election of Governor Waiguru in Kirinyaga.
Multi-Million Car Collection
The billionaire businessman boasts of an endless list of luxury cars, as stated by a report published by The Standard in 2019.
Some of his cars include a grand Cadillac Escalade SUV, which costs Ksh7-9 million. The car’s price can be way higher depending on custom modifications required by the buyer.
He also owns a Maserati Levante. The car costs about Ksh17 million, and is a real speed freak.
Another range of car in his possession is the 2018 Land Rover Range Rover, V8 Supercharged. The car costs about Ksh10 million.
Ngirici also owns a Rolls Royce Phantom, one of the most luxurious cars in the world. The vehicle costs in excess of Ksh45 million.
He also owns a Rolls Royce convertible estimated to have set him back a further Ksh34 million.
Ngirici’s collection also boasts a Mercedes Benz G Wagon, which costs about Ksh15 million.
Auctioneers
The name Ngirici has always been associated with wealth and it came as a shocker when NCS auctioneers paid their Runda home a visit to cart away household items in a bid to recover a kes5 million debt owed to Flex Air Charter.
The Kirinyaga woman representative hired helicopters in 2016 at a cost of kes5.9 million but only paid a fraction prompting the helicopter company to move to court to seek legal recourse.
Murang’a senator Irungu Kang’ata managed to stop the operation promising to deliver a cheque to NCS offices.
The former woman representative read mischief saying that the action by the auctioneers was as a result of her support of President William Ruto-then deputy president.
“The whole thing is political; these were my enemies at play. The statement I made over the weekend has really touched them,” she told PD.
She went on to say that the auctioneers took her TV worth Ksh2 million.
“The auctioneers descended on my residence and took away all the households including a Sh2 million television set,”
“Because I wanted to save my items, I decided to deposit the cash with the court as I move to court for an appeal,” a distraught Ngirici told the media.
