This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
August 30, 2019
Joseph Mwangi, the former manager of teen acrobat Wendy Waeni, is wanted by detectives over forgery claims.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mwangi is being sought in connection with a fake threatening letter sent to Wendy's mother, Magdalene Mbele, from an unnamed Cabinet secretary.
The dispute between Wendy and Mwangi began when the 14-year-old acrobat accused him of pocketing all the returns from her hard work, sparking a Twitter storm.
Wendy, who gained fame after her performance before President Uhuru Kenyatta and his counterparts from Rwanda and Ghana on Jamhuri Day 2014, claimed she has performed in various places around the world but has not received any payment.
"I have been performing all over the world. I've performed in Rwanda, Germany, China and I've not got even a single penny," she said during a television interview.
However, Mwangi denied the allegations, stating that Wendy's family has received hundreds of thousands of shillings in the past, including $5,000 (Sh515,750 in today's rates) from Rwandan President Paul Kagame in 2015.
He also claimed to have sourced school fees for Wendy and provided cash to her family for other expenses, citing Sh100,000 he gave Wendy's mother in December 2018 to facilitate her admission to secondary school.
Wendy's mother, Magdalene Mbele, corroborated her daughter's claims, stating that the fame Wendy has received has not translated to monetary gain.
Wendy has since dropped Mwangi as her manager, choosing Becky Wangari instead.
