Pastor Dorcas Rigathi is the sensational second lady and wife to the current deputy president of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua.
She shot into the limelight after President Ruto picked her husband, Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate in the last year’s General Elections.
You probably don’t know much about Dorcas, and this guide will shed more light on her life.
To get started, here is a table with brief details about Dorcas.
Rigathi Gachagua Wife’s Profile summary
| Real Name | Dorcas Wanjiku Rigathi Gachagua |
| Popularly | Wife to the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua |
| Place of Birth | Murang’a, Central Kenya |
| Age | Unknown (Celebrates Birthday 18th October) |
| Ethnicity | Kikuyu |
| County | Murang’a |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Husband | Rigathi Gachagua |
| Children | Kevin Gachagua and Keith Gachagua |
| Years Active | Unknown |
| Religion | Christian |
| Occupation | Pastor, APECK Patron, Director at Family’s Companies |
Dorcas Rigathi Family Background
Dorcas Rigathi was born in Murang’a in a humble family.
Her father died when she was 11 years old, forcing her mother and siblings to move to Thika’s Kiandutu slums after relatives refused to help them.
Her mother was hospitalized for six months after her father’s death, prompting Dorcas and her sisters to work as house helps and their brothers to work in coffee farms to feed themselves.
Their situation saw them live in a chicken house as their mother toiled hard to give them a decent life.
Dorcas lost not only her father but a sister to pneumonia too.
Dorcas Rigathi Education
Dorcas started her education journey late because of her family’s poverty.
Alongside her younger siblings, they had to wait for their older siblings to get their education because their mother couldn’t educate them all at once.
Her mother decided to venture into selling vegetables, maize, and beans to enroll Dorcas in school.
Dorcas started her education journey at Mugumoini Primary School at Kiandutu.
She later got admitted to Alliance High School for her secondary education.
However, she later switched to St. Francis Girls, where she completed her high school education.
Dorcas enrolled in a teaching course at Kenyatta University in 1985, majoring in History and CRE.
Dorcas Rigathi Career Background
Dorcas has garnered many career titles after finishing her undergraduate studies at Kenyatta University.
For reasons best known to her, Dorcas did not practice teaching despite studying for the same at the University.
Her career started at the Cooperative Bank of Kenya, where she worked as an Agriculture Department banker. That was in 1990.
Fifteen years later, Dorcas resigned from the banking job to run her family’s business and serve the church.
She started serving as an usher in 2002 at the Grace Ministries Church, her current church.
Dorcas began a widow’s ministry within her church called Dorcas Rigathi Mercy Ministries, having found inspiration from her mother’s widowed life.
She had watched her mother suffer when her uncles and other relatives could help them but only saw them as a burden.
The ministry’s sole purpose was to work closely with widows and help them in different capacities, which she still does.
The initiative has earned her recognition, especially the honorary doctorate from Breakthrough international Bible University in 2021.
Besides running her widows ministry, Dorcas also serves as the patron of the Association of Pentecostal and Evangelical Clergy of Kenya (APECK).
In her role in the family business, Pastor Dorcas serves as the Director of one of their companies, Wamunyoro Investments Limited.
She has been the primary shareholder in the family’s business because of her husband’s involvement in active politics, and now he is helping President Ruto run the country.
The icing on the cake in the career life of Dorcas was last year when Ruto’s presidency took over, and her husband’s deputy president role took effect.
As the second lady of Kenya, her close association with first lady Madam Rachel Ruto especially on spiritual matters, has earned her respect from many Kenyans.
Dorcas is using her second lady title to impact Kenyan lives.
Her first initiative is to partner with the Kenya Union of Savings and Cooperatives (KUSCCO) to financially empower boys and young men.
She has also partnered with the National Police Service to help and mentor struggling police officers as mental health cases continue to rise in the police force.
Dorcas and Rigathi Gachagua Relationship Timeline
The story of how Dorcas and Rigathi met is quite interesting.
Apparently, the two met on the day Dorcas had decided to put an end to her miserable life.
Gachagua, who was studying and a student leader at the University of Nairobi, was organizing a list of students that would attend an event graced by President Moi.
Dorcas was a student at Kenyatta University and decided to use that chance to commit suicide.
She planned to take the trip and cause a scene at the event by ranting at the president while approaching him, a daring move she thought would prompt Moi’s security to shoot her point bank for breaching security protocol.
She had intended to commit suicide because a gas cooker she had bought for her mother had exploded and burnt two neighbors’ kids, and she blamed herself for the unfortunate incident.
However, her plan didn’t succeed because Moi stood up and started walking toward her.
Gachagua, who was the head of the delegation, would intervene and offer her a shoulder to cry on after she narrated to him about her plans.
Dorcas was summoned by the president at the State House the following day for a candid conversation following the events of the day before.
She met Gachagua again at the State House, where his mother had accompanied him.
Gachagua would then introduce her to his mum.
The meeting was a turning point in her life because not only did she get a chance to air her frustrations to the president, but she also got a friend in Gachagua who would later become the love of her life.
Their relationship culminated in marriage after completing the university.
The two were from poor backgrounds, which strengthened their connection to the point of venturing into several businesses together.
Dorcas revealed in an interview with Rev. Cathy Kiuna that she fell in love with Gachagua because he was industrious and never shied from doing manual jobs.
He also supported her side hustles while she was working as a banker.
The two have supported each other in their marriage of 35 years.
They have two sons, Kevin, and Keith Gachagua. Rigathi shared that he wished they had more children because their house gets lonely since his sons are all grown up.
Dorcas has supported her husband numerous times, especially when scathing allegations of the illegal tender acquisition were brought against Rigathi.
During these trying moments, she was revealed as the director of most companies that had won questionable tenders.
Dorcas terms her husband as supportive and amplifies that marriage works.
Rigathi Gachagua Wife’s Net Worth
There is no doubt that Dorcas earns a decent living from her role as her family’s company’s director, second lady, pastor, and other behind-the-scenes ventures.
However, her net worth is unknown, but if we can go by her husband’s net worth, the couple has an estimated wealth of one million dollars.
The estimate comes after Rigathi Gachagua revealed in the deputy president’s debate last year that he is worth 800,000,000, which has increased with his current State salary.
Additionally, the deputy is set to recover his seized 200,000,000 from the Asset Recovery Agency after the amount was dismissed as proceeds of crime.
Dorcas Properties, Cars, and Houses
There is little information capturing Pastor Rigathi’s lifestyle.
It would have been easier to find this information if the couple’s social media accounts depicted their lifestyle.
However, the family has a lavish rural home in Sagana.
Currently, they reside at the sprawling deputy president’s official State home in Karen, which has housed former deputy presidents like Ruto and Kalonzo.
Other Little-Known Facts about Rigathi Gachagua Wife
- Despite her latest earned status as the second lady, she still cooks, cleans, and irons Gachagua’s clothes, terming it as her special gesture towards her husband
- She runs her church in Mathira Constituency as a full-time pastor
- She advocates for the welfare of young men and boys, pointing out that the empowerment of the girl child should not mean that the boy child should be neglected
- She is against homosexuality and lesbianism, calling out teachers to speak against it since schools are the breeding grounds of such
Also check: Is Rigathi Gachagua Worth Ksh 800 million? An Inside Look At Rigathi Gachagua Wealth Portfolio
