Pauline Njoroge is a household name in the Kenyan digital space owing to her huge social media following and strong opinions on political and human interest matters.
She has worked with several political parties and politicians such as former President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, the Jubilee Party, and the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition among others.
Being in the political space and having worked with top politicians, there has been a perception that she grew up in a well-off family and attended high-end schools.
However, this is far from the truth as her story is that of grass to grace, punctuated with episodes of resilience and God's favour and grace upon her.
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File image of Pauline Njoroge. [Photo:Courtesy]
In this article, we outline how she moved from being a posho mill attendant in the early stages of her life to working with the likes of Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga among others.
Early Life
Pauline grew up as an orphan and faced several changes including raising finances for her education and that of her sister.
In one of her memoirs, Pauline noted at one point while she was staying in Ngara, she was kicked out due to rent arrears. At the same time, her sister had been out of school for six weeks because of unpaid fees.
Left with no other option, she retreated back to the village but was lucky when a couple from her chief invited her to stay with them in Gachie.
While staying in Gachie, the couple opened a posho mill where Pauline served as an attendant.
"With time the couple opened a posho mill in Gachie. But things were not very good financially so they could not afford to hire a worker. We had to do the job ourselves. I would open the posho mill, grease the machine, clean the maize, and wait for customers to come then mill the maize for them," she narrated.
Joining Politics
Despite the setbacks and hardships she had faced, Pauline was still determined to actualise her vision to join the political space and start a Non-Governmental Organisation.
She registered as a member at the US Embassy reference center which gave her access to books and the internet where she was able to deepen her understanding of politics.
One of her breakthroughs came when she managed to convince a group of youth to team up with her and start the NGO. The journey to setting up the organisation was tough, but it eventually paid off.
Through the NGO, she and the team got engagements at the US embassy in Nairobi and build networks that opened more doors for her.
Being a member of the US Embassy reference center she also got a deeper grasp of social media and started growing her Facebook page where she'd posts her opinion on different political happenings.
File image of Raila Odinga and Pauline Njoroge. [Photo:Courtesy]
Meeting Peter Kenneth
After interacting with her content for quite sometime, one of her followers reached out and linked her up with former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth who was contesting for the country's presidency in the 2013 general election.
Pauline notes that she reached out to Kenneth via text and was surprised when the former assistant minister got back and even invited her for a meeting.
She presented her ideas to Kenneth and was later hired to his presidential team as one of the social media strategists.
"I made my pitch, he seemed to like it and he promised that his presidential campaign team would contact me.
"I was contacted 2 days later and that marked the beginning of my 10-year journey handling political communication," Pauline opined.
Joining TNA Party and Working with Uhuru
Having taken note of Pauline's digital prowess, she was poached by the TNA party and played a key role in Uhuru's election as president.
She served as a digital strategist and worked with the Jubilee government during its 10-year term. While working with Jubilee, she was able to go back to school where she acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Media and Communication and a Master’s Degree in International Studies.
File image of Uhuru Kenyatta, Pauline Njoroge and other Jubilee party leaders. [Photo: Courtesy]
In 2017, former president Kenyatta awarded her with the Head of State Commendation (HSC) in recognition of her efforts and service to the nation.
Ahead of the 2022, general election, the former president teamed up with Odinga to form the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, which Pauline worked with and is still affiliated with.
In May 2023, she was named Jubilee party's deputy organising secretary, but the appointment was contested and is a subject of an ongoing dispute pitting two rival units in the party.
Life away from politics
Aside from politics, Pauline also served as a communication officer at NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat, a Semi-autonomous State Agency under the National Treasury and Planning.
