Mama Ngina Kenyatta addressing a thanksgiving prayer rally in Gatundu, Kiambu County. FILE
By BD REPORTER
Posted Monday, May 20 2013 at 21:47
Posted Monday, May 20 2013 at 21:47
IN SUMMARY
- Very little is known about Mama Ngina, widow of Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who has managed to keep a low profile as she presided over the vast family business.
Kenya Power has listed Mama Ngina Kenyatta as its fourth largest individual investor, making the electricity distributor the only Nairobi bourse-listed company bearing her name on the shareholder list.
Filings with the Capital Markets Authority show that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s mother owns 2.2 million shares or a 0.11 per cent stake in the company, whose ownership is dominated by institutional investors like the Treasury and National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
It’s not clear when she acquired the minority stake, which is small compared to the multi-billion-shilling investments controlled by the Kenyatta family in real estate, insurance, education, banking, manufacturing, farming and hospitality sectors.
Very little is known about Mama Ngina, widow of Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who has managed to keep a low profile as she presided over the vast family business.
Her Kenya Power stake, currently valued at Sh37.7 million, has baffled analysts on reasons behind holding the minority stake in the electricity utility.
“If the share has not been hived off a larger trust, it was certainly not bought for commercial reasons,” said Johnson Nderi, an analyst at Suntra Investment Bank.
Similar comments were made by an analyst at Standard Investment Bank. The former first lady earned a dividend of Sh1.1 million.
Kenya Power declared a dividend of Sh0.50 for the year ended June 2012, up from Sh0.45 the previous year.
The firm’s shares have failed to benefit from the recovery of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, shedding 6.3 per cent over the past six months in a period that has seen most counters record double-digit gain.
Family’s business empire
As the matriarch in charge of the Kenyatta family’s vast business empire, Mama Ngina presides over an enterprise that is associated with well-known commercial brands and blue chip companies.
This includes Commercial Bank of Africa, which is Kenya’s largest non-listed lender with total assets of Sh100 billion and last year posted a net profit of Sh2.6 billion.
The bank is ranked Kenya’s ninth largest with a market size index of 4.08 per cent.
Others are Brookside Dairy — where the President’s younger brother, Muhoho, sits as executive chairman, and the upmarket hotel chain, Heritage Hotels East Africa.
The family is also linked to Media Max Company, which owns K24 TV, Kameme Radio and The People newspaper.
This article was first published in our sister publication Business Daily.
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