Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi has been making headlines for the past two days after police raided his palatial home in Nairobi's Muthaiga estate.
Mr Wanjigi is the son of former Kamukunji Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, Maina Wanjigi in Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s government.
Jimmy Wanjigi was educated at the prestigious St Mary’s School Nairobi in the 1970s and 1980s before leaving to join the University of York in Canada in 1982.
Before joining the University of York, the prominent businessman worked at his father’s company in Westlands. He later opened his own office at Ukulima Plaza where he began building his career as a businessman.
He has been associated with various businesses in the country such as the Kwacha Group of Companies and Caramel Restaurant at the ABC Place in Westlands where NASA leader Raila Odinga held several press conferences after the August 8 elections.
Mr Wanjigi is alleged to have sourced for multi-billion tenders from the government in the security sector and partnerships with the Chinese companies who were building the country’s IT infrastructures such as tax and immigration systems.
The now-defunct Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) allowed Mr Wanjigi’s Kwacha Group to install and operate VSAT (very small aperture terminal) for data services like internet and e-mail.
He won a case after a local newspaper suggested that the system he had installed was meant to bypass the Telkom system granting him access to rake in millions of shillings.
[caption caption="Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka"]
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The businessman, who is alleged to have been a close acquaintance of former President Mwai Kibaki, is credited to have been the force behind uniting President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto together.
The Sh320 Billion Standard Gauge Railway that has been one of the main achievements of Jubilee government, was Mr Wanjigi’s brainchild.
According to a report by the Daily Nation, Mr Wanjigi had a lucrative deal with Chinese companies that had proposals for the project. However, Jubilee reportedly locked him out of the deal even after he bankrolled their campaigns.
Police officers on Monday raided the businessman’s home after guns were siezed at a house in Malindi which is alleged to be his.
[caption caption="Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi"]
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