Battle for Fai Amario’s Sh487m business empire follows him to the grave

Fai stands for a chemical formula of a Spanish wine, while Amario means a vast, barren vineyard. Fai Amario was born as Peter Gilbert Njoroge Ng’ang’a on April 10 1954. He was an only child in a humble family living in Banana, Kiambu county.

Being intelligent and of age, Amario skipped three classes; from Class Two to Four, and from Four to Six at Thimbigwa Primary School in Kiambaa. He cleared and joined Starehe Boys’ Centre in 1969. After Starehe, Amario was admitted to the University of Nairobi to study pharmacy but he dropped out after only one semester. He secured a job at Kiwi Home Products, became a manager and manufactured his own Dush Shoe Polish.

He acquired a plot in Banana and set up a distillery but residents complained of stench and he shifted to Mukara, within Banana area. In 1981, he was chased out of Banana and moved to Naivasha. By then one could buy a bottle of beer and a packet of cigarettes for Sh10.