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Charles Njiru Kaburu, amended known arsenic Mkombozi (Swahili for “savior”), is the proprietor of Nice City and different multimillion-shilling businesses successful Kirinyaga County.
Born successful 1963 successful Kangai village, Kirinyaga County, his emergence from poorness to multimillionaire presumption has been a manifestation of relentless hard work, adaptability, and religion successful the future.
But connected July 7, during the Saba Saba protests witnessed crossed Kenya, Njiru watched successful despair arsenic looters vandalized parts of his Nice Digital City complex, causing harm worthy millions of shillings.
It was a brutal stroke to a antheral who spent implicit 4 decades gathering an empire from the crushed up.
Humble Beginnings of Charles Njiru Kaburu
Njiru was calved into a household of eight. Life was tough. He recalled increasing up connected sugarless porridge and borrowing his brother’s trousers to look decent portion dating.
“I was calved successful a household of eight. We grew up taking sugarless porridge for breakfast,” helium said successful a past interview.
“When I began dating, I borrowed my brother’s brace of trousers to look presentable.”
After completing secondary schoolhouse successful the 1980s, Njiru trained arsenic a tailor and earned conscionable Ksh300 per month.
With each trouser fetching Ksh2 and each garment Ksh1, the returns were meager.
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He aboriginal discontinue tailoring, returned location to Karaba, and tried farming connected a 10-acre portion of land, increasing tomatoes and French beans. Four years in, each helium had saved was Ksh2,500.
Trying, Failing, and Rising Again
Undeterred, Njiru borrowed Ksh500 from a person and topped up his savings to commencement selling second-hand clothes. That task lasted conscionable 2 months.
He past moved into hawking agrochemicals successful Mwea town, which proved profitable.
In conscionable six months, helium earned Ksh300,000. But arsenic contention stiffened, profits fell. He exited aft 3 years.
Njiru aboriginal ventured into matatu services, soil transportation, operation materials, and adjacent brewing.
However, precocious operating costs and dishonest dealings pushed him retired of each.
“My beingness successful concern has been truthful hostile, but I judge that successful each adversity, determination is simply a mode out,” helium told Business Daily successful 2015.
Finding His Breakthrough successful Rice
In 1984, a terrible drought deed Kirinyaga, making farming unsustainable. Njiru pivoted to atom milling, a determination that would alteration his life.
Encouraged by section farmers, helium turned his stalled maize milling works into Nice Rice Millers Ltd. The request was contiguous and overwhelming.
“Farmers were waiting for 3 months to person their atom milled astatine government-owned mills. They started flocking to my maize mill looking for storage. Eventually, I started milling for them,” Njiru recalled.
As concern boomed, helium added much machines and hired much staff.
Today, Nice Rice Mill mills 150 tonnes of atom per time accounting for astir 70% of Mwea’s 40,000-tonne yearly production.
Building Nice Digital City
The occurrence of the atom mill led to the instauration of Nice Digital City, a mega promenade sitting connected 8 acres.
It is located successful Mwea, the analyzable includes a 75-bed hotel, a supermarket, petrol station, swimming pool, gardens, a chemist, and more.
“I ain and run each the facilities successful the promenade but the chemist which I person rented out. Visitors tin usage the gardens for escaped arsenic agelong arsenic they perpetrate to spending connected drinks and nutrient from the hotel,” helium said.
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The metropolis is simply a family-run affair. His 2 sons negociate the hotel, supermarket, and a substance station, portion his girl oversees operations with implicit 300 staff.
Nice Wagons and a National Vision
Njiru’s ambitions didn’t halt astatine milling. He invested Ksh13.2 cardinal successful assembling 24 atom transportation wagons “Nice Wagons” to proviso 3 tonnes of atom regular crossed counties similar Kirinyaga, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi. He aboriginal expanded to Nairobi, Nanyuki, and Nakuru.
“Mobile shops are the exemplary of the future,” helium said, noting that the thought came from concern trips to India, China, and Dubai.
“My imagination is to person a wagon successful each municipality successful the country.”
His marque present includes Nice Rice Mills, Nice Charcoal, Nice Mineral Water, Nice Bakeries, and Nice Jikos.
Devastation During Saba Saba
On July 7, arsenic protestors poured into the streets during the Saba Saba demonstrations, parts of Njiru’s Nice Digital City were looted and vandalized.
The destruction, according to Njiru, outgo him millions.
“It’s heartbreaking,” helium said. “This is not conscionable my business; it’s a livelihood for thousands of families.”
“Hired goons invaded the property. They were not that many, reports allege that they had held concealed meetings successful undisclosed locations. They were precise convulsive and managed to interruption successful aft arriving astatine astir 9.00 a.m. They broke windows and doors earlier they engaged constabulary successful back-and-forth battles for astir 2 hours,” helium narrated.
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Aftermath of the Nice Digital City pursuing looting during the July 7, 2025 protests. PHOTO/Vera Gichira
