Bishop Margaret Wanjiru
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1961 |
| GENDER | Female |
| OCCUPATION | Founder and presiding Bishop of the Jesus Is Alive Ministries |
Bishop Margaret Biography
Bishop Margaret Wanjiru is the founder and presiding bishop of the Jesus Is Alive Ministries (JIAM). She has served in several capacities as a leader, politician as well as a public servant.
Political Career
Her political; career began in 2007 when she was elected as a Member of Parliament for Starehe Constituency, serving under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). During this period, she was also appointed to the cabinet as an Assistant Minister for Housing, in the year 2008.
In 2017, she unsuccessfully ran for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat. She had also vied for the same seat in 2013 but was locked out of the race by the electoral commission for lack of papers.
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She contested for the Nairobi Senator seat in 2022 on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) seat but lost to ODM’s Edwin Sifuna.
In April 2024, she was appointed by President Ruto as a Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs. The decision was later overturned by the court which declared the appointments unconstitutional.
Currently, she serves as the chairperson of the Nairobi Rivers Commission having been appointed by President Ruto on October 25, 2024. The Wanjiru-led Commission is meant to reclaim the rivers of Nairobi, examining previous reports and recommendations made in the efforts of reclaiming the Nairobi River and adopting lessons learnt in the new initiative.
Education Background
The bishop holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership and Management from St Paul’s University. She has a second bachelor’s degree in Christian Leadership from the United Gradual College. She also holds a Doctor of Theology degree from Vineyard Harvester Bible College.
Family
Margaret was born in 1961 in Nairobi County. She describes her upbringing as humble. She has three children among them Stephen Kariuki, the former Member of Parliament for Mathare.
Net worth
The pastor has been ranked among the top eight richest pastors in the country. Her church, Jesus Is Alive Ministries along Haile Selassie Avenue is among the biggest churches in the country.
Last year, she posted a photo showing her two-storey mansion in the background speculated to be worth several millions. It had a modern brown roof and huge windows, ensuring it was well-lit. Next to the mansion was a swimming pool and a tall green hedge surrounded the house
