Former Kenyan television journalist Esther Arunga has officially dropped the Timberlake surname and reverted to her former name, Esther Adongo Arunga, following a formal name change published in the Kenya Gazette.
In Gazette Notice No. 16203, Arunga states that she has renounced and abandoned the name Esther Adongo Timberlake and adopted Esther Adongo Arunga for all purposes. The notice also requests members of the public to identify and address her exclusively by her adopted name.
According to the notice issued by LAK Advocates on behalf of Arunga, the change was formalised through a deed poll dated October 2, 2026, and registered at the Registry of Documents in Nairobi under Presentation No. 64, Volume D1, Folio 918/3321, File No. MMXXVI.
Arunga previously worked at Capital FM and KTN before becoming widely known by the surname Timberlake following her marriage to Quincy Timberlake in 2010. She publicly announced at the time that she had adopted his surname.
In the same year, Arunga was involved in plans to establish the PlaCenta Party alongside Timberlake and musician Joseph Hellon, founder of the Finger of God Church, which she had joined in 2009. She resigned from KTN on the day the party’s formation plans were announced.
The couple later moved to Australia, where their family came into the public spotlight following the death of their three-year-old son, Sinclair, in June 2014.
In 2019, Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the offence and was sentenced to 10 months in prison before being released on parole.
Timberlake later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September 2023 after prosecutors dropped the murder charge. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the court taking into account his mental health condition and the time he had already spent in custody.
The Gazette notice does not provide a reason for Arunga’s decision to drop the Timberlake surname.
