Former Kenya Television Network (KTN) news anchor Esther Adongo Arunga has attracted public attention after dropping her husband’s surname, Timberlake, 16 years after adopting it.
A Gazette notice on October 9 confirmed that she had renounced the name Esther Adongo Timberlake and reverted to Esther Adongo Arunga.
The notice, formalised through a deed poll dated October 2, directs members of the public to identify and address her by her adopted name.
Arunga announced her name change in March 2010 after marrying Quincy Timberlake.
Esther Arunga’s Age, Early Life and Education
Arunga grew up in Ethiopia before moving to Australia after completing her secondary education.
She attended Kenya High School before proceeding to the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, where she studied communication and law.
After university, she returned to Kenya, completed professional legal training, and built her career in journalism.
After university, Arunga completed a professional course at the Kenya School of Law and was admitted to the Kenyan Bar in Nairobi in 2009.
Her legal qualification offered a professional path beyond broadcasting, though she first became known as a television presenter.
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Esther Arunga Career at Capital FM and KTN
Esther Arunga began her journalism career at Capital FM before joining KTN and in 2008, she won the Chaguo la Teeniez Award for Best Teen TV Anchor/Presenter.
In a later interview, Arunga reflected on her time at KTN, saying she had done relatively few features and field reports during her years at the station.
“I probably did a total of 5 features and 3 field stories my whole time at KTN, which is a pity,” she said in an interview.
Her television career ended in February 2010 when she resigned from KTN after becoming involved in plans to establish a political party with musician Joseph Hellon and Quincy Timberlake.
Why Esther Arunga Left KTN
Arunga’s public life took a different direction in 2009 after she joined the Finger of God Church, founded by musician Joseph Hellon.
In February 2010, Arunga, Hellon and Timberlake announced plans to establish the PlaCenta Party, short for Platinum Centralizer and Unionist Party of Kenya.
The plans included Hellon’s proposed presidential bid, while Arunga was associated with ambitions to contest the Karachuonyo parliamentary seat and pursue the deputy presidency.
Arunga resigned from KTN on the day the political plans were announced, ending her broadcasting career.
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Esther Arunga’s Marriage to Quincy Timberlake
In March 2010, Esther Arunga announced that she had married Quincy Timberlake and adopted his surname, becoming Esther Adongo Timberlake. The couple later relocated to Australia, where they raised their children.
In June 2014, the couple’s three-year-old son, Sinclair Timberlake, died in Queensland, Australia. His death drew widespread public attention and prompted an investigation by Australian authorities.
Investigators established that Sinclair had suffered fatal blunt-force trauma to his abdomen. Arunga was later convicted of being an accessory after the fact to his manslaughter and sentenced to 10 months in prison by Justice Martin Burns. She was released on parole immediately after sentencing.
During the proceedings, Crown prosecutor Danny Boyle told the court that Arunga changed her account after Timberlake was involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility. Arunga later told police that she had entered the bathroom and found Timberlake striking Sinclair in the stomach.
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