According to the last national census, Meru County is home to more than 1.5 million people. The county has great economic potential owing to various key sectors that generate income to the people.
Agriculture, which is generally referred to as the ‘green gold’ of the county is the biggest income generating activity in Meru. Meru farmers earn from milk production, miraa (khat), livestock and tea. Additionally, Meru is a tourist destination owing to various scenic attractions and the Meru National Park. This makes the hospitality sector a very viable investment. READ FULL STORY
Meru has produced a number of renowned tycoons who have made their fortunes mostly from the above mentioned fields.
Eafeed takes a look at some of the richest men in Meru county.
Stephen Mutai M’imanyara family
Until his demise in 2018, Stephen Mutai was known to be the richest man in Meru county who was the brainchild behind the foundation of Cooperative Bank. He had vast investments in agriculture and real estate. Mutai owned over 1000 acres of land in Central and Rift Valley and owned the famous Imenti House in Nairobi CBD.
The former Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) chair left his multi-billion property in the hands of his family including the wife Honesty Kanyua Manyara who was appointed as the sole administrator of the multi-sectorial empire.However, M’imanyara’s property is marred with inheritance dispute after one of his alleged son who was sired out of wedlock went to court asking to be considered as a fellow administrator.
Engineer Lee Kimathi Njue alleged that the late tycoon was his biological father and even paid his school fees for prestigious overseas schools.
Billionaire Francis Koome Njogu
Francis Njogu is the billionaire who built his empire through investment in the energy sector through Gulf Energy Holding. He was the firm’s managing director until 2019 when it was sold out to Rubis Energie. Through the sellout, Njogu made Ksh 1.9 Bn, coming second to Suleiman Shahbal who is estimated to have made Ksh 2.4 Bn.
Njogu owns Alba Hotel, a facility that is thought to be the best in Meru Town. Alba is composed of 51 guest rooms including presidential suites which charge at least ksh 40000 accommodation.
Rodgers Kipembe Mpuru
Kipembe is a well known tycoon and has smashed the glass ceiling at only 33 years old. He is the son of firebrand Meru politician Lawrence Mpuru.
His flamboyance and expensive lifestyle is punctuated with at least 18 luxurious cars with customized registration plates. The fleet of his cars include Land Rover Discovery, Toyota V8, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rovers among others. He also owns a multi-million mansion in Karen, Nairobi.
Mpuru made his fortune by starting a car wash in South C that earned him good money which he used to open others. The law graduate then opened multiple salvage car garages that brought wrecked vehicles back to life.
Additionally, his investment portfolio has tentacles into the financial sector and he is behind Wema Tosha, a firm that provides loans to farmers.
Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi
The 70 year old has been in politics for over 3 decades after he first became an MP for South Imenti in 1992. He is known to be a calculative politician who has never lost in any contested elections.
Undoubtedly, the politician has developed deep pockets owing to the multi-million salaries that are associated with Kenyan politicians. Murungi has previously served in the cabinet and was the first senator of Meru, before he elbowed out former governor Peter Munya in 2017 Meru gubernatorial contest.
According to reports on Nation, Murungi is said to have paid at least Ksh 273 million towards acquisition of the Devolution Empowerment Party (DEP) which recently joined the Azimio la Umoja pact. Political party stakeholders always walk home with millions of money generated from membership and nominations fees.
Paul Kobia
The flamboyant businessman is one of the most controversial persons in Kenya. He has been to courts severally because of allegations of dubious business dealings including fake gold trading.
