Pauline Njoroge is one of young Kenyans who have been tasked to strategize for Raila Odinga to ensure he becomes president in 2022.Having lost her mother at a tender age, she was forced to live with relatives most of her life.In Nairobi she started working in a Posho Mill until one of her friends connected her to politicians.
Here is the full story of Pauline Njoroge,the future CS:
“My first phone was an alcatel. A very kind relative had given it to me after acquiring a new phone. I stayed with it for about 2 years then one day it stopped working. Another kind friend gave me a sumsung he had dumped somewhere. The phone had seen better days and one had to use sellotape to hold it together. The battery was also swollen. I treasured this phone. It’s during my season with it when I discovered and fell in love with facebook. One Saturday morning in 2009, I went and opened the posho mill as usual, greased the machine, cleaned up the place and stepped outside to clean the maize. There was always so many customers on Saturday from afternoon all the way to the evening so I needed to clean a huge amount of maize. While I was in that process, a guy turned up and told me he wanted me to siaga for him 8 gorogos (8 Kasukus) of maize. That was a full bucket. “Wow!” I thought to myself, “What a nice way to start the day?” As I was putting the gorogos in the bucket, the guy went inside the posho. Then came out a minute or so later and said that it seemed we didn’t have a paper bag big enough to fit his unga so he would go get one from the shops then come back. He left and I went inside to siaga his maize to grade one flour as he had requested. Just when I had finished another customer came, she just wanted one gorogoro. She paid and I was going to get her change, I noticed something that almost knocked me out! The paper bag where I had put my phone and wallet was missing from a nail on the wall where I had hang it! I didn’t know whether to faint or to scream. I searched the whole place in vain… I shed many tears but non would return my precious phone. It was gone…. and so was the 8 gorogoro man! He was not a customer… he was a thief. All that I had been left with was half a bucket of grade one unga…… and I could only pray that I get someone to buy it.
How Pauline Njoroge met Peter Kenneth
“When I stepped into Peter Kenneth’s office at Treasury building in January 2012, I was mesmerised because I had never been into such a big government office. Here I was, a village girl from Githiga who was a few months before operating a posho mill, having tried hawking and even searching for a house girl’s job a couple of years earlier. But I was now seated across an assistant minister.“
At that moment I did not have papers beyond form 4, neither did I have any professional training. But I had a Facebook page and a Twitter handle. I also had a dream, passion and had read widely about politicians, politics and campaign communication,” she wrote.
While starting off without any academic credential, along her career, Pauline has acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Media and Communication and a Master’s Degree in International Studies.
Her short-lived stint in Kenneth’s campaign secretariat kick-started her journey in political communication, the highlight being her seemingly unending tenure in Uhuru’s fold.
In a 2014 post she narrates how she got an invitation from the American Embassy residence where she managed to rub shoulders with the who is who in the country including Manu CHANDALIA, Chris Kirubi, Peter Kenneth, Linus Kaikai among other invitees but its Gina din whom she approached when she felt out of place who eventually introduced her to Peter Kenneth, an assistant minister then but later a presidential candidate.
“I had to pinch myself to believe that it was actually me” Pauline reminces.
” However, I had to o back to my Posho mill job after that.”
“ I confidently DM’d Peter Kenneth, waited, but nothing…. One day in a Matatu, I received a call… I couldn’t believe it was actually PK on the other end of the line…!! She wrote in the 2014 post.
“I was contacted two days later and that marked the beginning of my 10-year journey handling political communication,” she said.
She was invited to his Treasury building office and the rest as they say is history.
Today, the Azimio diehard handles virtually all communication affairs on social media pertaining to campaigns and believe me, it’s one of the hardest tasks…. She handles the political hard tackles with the hardness of a veteran while maintaining the grace of the beauty she is….