This archive report was first published on 7 May 2021.
Esther Njihia, a respected businesswoman in Nakuru and Nairobi, amassed millions importing goods into the country in the early 2000s.
However, she lost all her millions in a month and now hawks porridge and arrow roots in Nairobi city.
According to a YouTube show, Njihia imported vehicles, furniture, photocopier machines, and building materials, even selling a phone to the late President Daniel arap Moi.
Her goods were cheaper than market prices, earning her many clients and partnerships with several companies.
Residents in Nakuru knew her as a tycoon, and she saved millions in her account before deciding to expand her business to Nairobi.
"This is the point where my life changed and led to me losing all the money that I had worked for," Njihia disclosed.
She sold her 6-bedroom home in Nakuru for a Ksh40 million house in Nairobi, but the ownership was disputed, and the property had been written under five individuals.
Njihia also invested Ksh11.4 million in a company called Desi, which promised to triple her money, but she lost the investment and never received the promised dividends.
She further invested Ksh4.2 million in a company headed by an influential government official, which defaulted on payments, leading to a court case she lost in 2018.
Years later, Njihia sells porridge to people in Nairobi city.
