Milliam Murigi @millymur1

Can you tattoo your girlfriend’s name on your body to prove your love for her? Well, this is what Ibrahim Muhoro did to prove to Jennifer Waridi that he loves her. 

“I was even ready to have her photo as my tattoo to let her know I was serious and I needed her as my wife,” said Muhoro as we settled for an interview at their home.

Though this is a crazy idea considering that a tattoo is a permanent mark, Muhoro says it was a risk he was ready to take to win her heart, a decision he cannot regret even now that they are living as husband and wife.

“I met this beautiful and charming lady in 2015. She was in the company of her mum.

They were selling milk at Mpeketoni market and I was going to buy some meat.

I saw a woman and made a short prayer to God—never thought it would be a reality some day.

I met her the second time on her way to church, I decided to offer her a lift. From there, we became friends and the rest as they say is history,” he recalls.

Then, Jennifer was a university student pursuing journalism and mass communication and Muhoro, a military man. Because of his career, they could only meet when he was off duty. 

However, after school, she joined the modelling and acting world. The two dated for four years before they decided to walk down the aisle in 2018.

Uncharted waters

As a born-again Christian, the need to set a new pace and change the negative perception about modelling as a career inspired her.

For a long time, society viewed modelling as something for wayward women. 

Though she worked in the media industry where she has held different positions in various media houses, modelling is what brought her to the limelight.

This is after she was crowned Miss Tourism, Lamu county in 2016 a position she held until 2018.

However, he says that being a model from an area that is largely dominated by Muslims wasn’t easy for her, and she faced a lot of bottlenecks in the beginning.

“Modelling is termed as Haram in the Islam religion. She didn’t have a lot of support. One time, she modelled in Hijabs.

It was something new. The best thing is that the idea was later absorbed,” Muhoro says.

And to ensure that other girls from the region didn’t face similar challenges, she started her own company, Trevor Empire with the aim of promoting and nurturing talent in Lamu. 

Opportunities arose

Because of her efforts, the county currently has a couple of female models. There are also musicians who have passed through her hands.

“So far so good, the company is doing well. We have managed to transform youths even though we have had some hitches in terms of logistics. Otherwise, the company is growing bigger and better,” he adds.

Through her company, she has also managed to start several initiatives to help the community. Some of the initiatives are Lamu Go Green project where they have successfully planted and grown more than 50,000 seedlings through schools.

 It also addresses the issue of boychild by helping those who have dropped out of school due to various challenges to go back and pioneered the first rugby tournament in Lamu county, among others.

Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. She was appointed Leader of Girls Guild Association, Lamu Charter and recommended for Yali Networks, American based initiative by Former President Barack Obama. 

And to ensure that his wife who is currently working as communication director for Lamu West Member of Parliament doesn’t concentrate on one thing leaving others behind, Muhoro is her manager as well as her physical trainer. This has helped them reflect on her strengths and her weaknesses.

“Jennifer portrays the beauty of heart and brains. She is a go-getter, a principled woman, focused to do good and causing a positive impact in people’s lives every day. I am greatly honoured to be her husband,” Muhoro says.

According to him the Miss Tourism Lamu county title came with so many other opportunities even into her acting career. In 2017 she acted in Kenda Imani, which was aired on KBC every Wednesday. She perfected her role as a bad girl called Ruby. 

However, people failed to differentiate between Ruby the actor, and Jennifer the person. Many people even thought she pretends to be a born–again Christian simply because of this role.  

“The series raised eyebrows since she was acting as a bad girl who masterminded a lot of kidnappings.

At first, I thought she couldn’t hack the role since she is a sweet soul, but she amazed me.

Now, I am always comfortable with whatever role she plays because she depicts real characters in today’s society, hence serving education and entertainment purposes,” Muhoro says.

Body goals

Recently, she featured in Njoro wa Uba on Maisha Majic East. She is also working on several other projects, which will be aired soon.

“When she started acting, she used to take extra roles, but currently she is taking the main roles. This is a good pace since she has been acting for about four years now,” the father of one reveals.

When asked to describe her, he says that she is smart, multi-talented, and intelligent and that is why she has been able to juggle between modelling, acting, her work as a communication director and family.

And how has she managed to remain gorgeous even after giving birth? He says that it hasn’t been an easy journey since she added a lot of weight. 

Muhoro took the role of her physical trainer after six months of exclusive breastfeeding. The two have been working out every morning and evening. 

Apart from that, she does intermittent fasting. This has seen her lose 20 kilogrammes in a span of three months.