By Isaac Blessings
The founding President of Kenya Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had four wives. Of his wives, Mama Ngina, who is the mother of President Uhuru Kenyatta, was the most noticeable. One of his least known children is Peter Magana, the only child he sired with his second wife Edna Clarke.
In this article, we bring you the story of President Uhuru’s reclusive brother who never attends family gatherings. Here is the story as told by WoK.
Who is Peter Magana?
Peter Magana is Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s third oldest child. Kenyatta met Edna during his second trip to the United Kingdom after he got a job as a nursery worker at AG Lindfields Nurseries in the Thakeham Parish. The two later got married in a wedding ceremony held on May 11th 1942 at the Chanctonbury registry office at Storrington in Sussex. Mzee however didn’t mention to Edna that he had a wife and two children back in Kenya. On August 11th 1943, Peter Magana was born in Worthing Hospital, West Sussex and three years later, Kenyatta left Edna in the United Kingdom and came back to Kenya in 1946. Edna later died in 1995 while aged 86 years.
Also Read: Northlands: Inside the Imposing Kshs 500 Billion City Owned By The Kenyatta Family
Missing Family Gatherings
Peter Magana who is a retired BBC producer last visited Kenya in 1979 for his father’s memorial and never returned back again. Although there is evidence that his children and grandchildren have been visiting Kenya, it is quite shocking how Peter has been missing in family events and gatherings. When Uhuru was first elected as the President of Kenya, all family members attended the inauguration ceremony held on April 9th 2013. Peter did not attend. A few months later, the Kenyatta family came together to mourn their nephew Mbugua Mwangi who died in the tragic Westgate terror attack. Peter wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
In 2014 when First Lady Margaret Kenyatta made history by finishing the London marathon, the Kenyatta family united at the finishing line to celebrate the victory. Despite the event being in his hometown, Peter never showed up. In 2018 when President Uhuru’s eldest sister Margaret Wambui died while aged 89 years, the family came together to mourn but only Peter was missing. However one of her daughters attended the church service that preceded the burial ceremony. He also didn’t attend the burial ceremonies of his brother Muigai as well as Jomo Kenyatta’s first wife Grace Wahu who died in 2007.
