Dead Beat founder denies neglecting ‘his own daughter’

In a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted, Jackson Njeru, the founder of the viral Facebook page, Dead Beat Kenya, that names and shames 'irresponsible fathers' is now being accused of abandoning his six-year-old daughter.

Impeccable sources revealed to The Nairobian that Njeru has never set eyes on the little angel who goes to a school in Nanyuki and does not pay for her upkeep either.

He allegedly fathered the child with a woman (whom we can't name to protect the identity of the child).

But in a quick rejoinder, Njeru told The Nairobian that people spreading rumours that he has neglected his daughter are the same fraudsters who attempted to blackmail him days after he launched the Facebook page.

"The woman they are talking about was my longtime girlfriend, and yes, we have a daughter whom I've been providing for up to this moment. Those who are spreading rumours that I'm an irresponsible father are my ex-girlfriends."

In an earlier interview published in this newspaper, Njeru said he had been forced to hire police officers to escort him home after an interview on a local television station after receiving threatening calls from some men.

Laughing off the allegations, Njeru says, "One week after I launched the page, a man from Mlolongo called me threatening to spill the beans about my daughter if I won't part with Sh500,000. I went to his home with my bodyguards and he has been quiet ever since."

Though Njeru admits he has never met his daughter, he says he will meet her mother when she jets in from Qatar on Mashujaa Day.

"I've all the records. Even how we have been communicating with the child's mother. In fact, when she arrives on October 20, both families will sit down and decide the way forward. Initially, the mother of my daughter lived in Tanzania, though we met in Nairobi. Her home is in Nanyuki, where I have a 50-acre piece of land. I will never neglect my daughter. I will do anything for my blood," says Njeru.

Njeru also revealed that he is single and that his first girlfriend, with whom he has another child, got married to another man when he (Njeru) was out of the country.

"I am single now, but I've more than 20 neglected children I am taking care of at the moment. I feed and educate them, so why can't I provided for my own?" he posed.

Njeru claims the woman's lawyer has already given him a clean bill and that he has no case to answer. 

"Apart from Dead Beat Kenya, I had another page before called 'Buyers Beware,' through which I helped a number of people to identify con artists and even get their money back. At some point, I used to trace con artists online and involve the police," he says.

Njeru's Deadbeat Kenya was designed to be a support group for single mothers and already has over 190,000 members.

"I realised that many people were running away from their family responsibilities, mostly men, after women started asking me for help. After helping three women to solve their marital problems, many others came forward and wanted to be helped as well. This thing is happening in all families - we have people siring kids and running away," Njeru told CNN. "Our kids are being violated."