Jackson Njeru the man behind the Dead Beat Kenya Facebook page, has gone into hiding

By Pkemoi Ng'enoh, Sep 18th 2014 Family issues didnt lead me to open dead beat page- declares Jackson Njeru 

Jackson Njeru, 37, the man behind the Dead Beat Kenya Facebook page, has gone into hiding. He says his life has been turned into nightmare by threats from men afraid of being exposed on the page and those who have already been put on the spot by women.

“On Friday 12th for instance, after featuring in an interview on a local television station, I had to hire police officers to take me back home because that night alone, I received some threatening calls from men,” Njeru told The Nairobian that the page attracted 100,000 fans in less than a week. He says his decision to set up the page was inspired by another page on which he initially used to warn fans against con artists.

“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.

“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.”

Though Njeru claims he has never abandoned any woman or avoided family responsibilities, he said “one of my cousins who had been left by her husband, a government employee, called me to post her predicament immediately after I opened the page. However the man came back to his family.”

Njure, says he spends most of his time online, even though he never studied IT or been to university. “I was born in Garissa where my father worked as an administrator. I joined primary school in Embu and secondary in Nairobi, but I could not proceed to campus,” he told The Nairobian.

Family lawyer George Omondi, says Njure can be sued for libel or defamation if the information he posts turns out to be false. He advises aggrieved women or men to settle their scores away from the glare of public scrutiny. Men rights activist Nderitu Njoka of the Maendeleo ya Wanaume has meanwhile dismissed Jackson Njeru as a ‘businessman’ and said he is preparing to go to court on behalf of the victims to sue Njeru for defamation.

“More than 25 men have come to me to seek legal redress after appearing on the page. Some men accused on the page could be guilty, but there are many avenues to settle such matters, including the children courts ,” said Njoka. - Pkemoi Ng’enoh