Former KTN news anchor Esther Arunga has made a definitive legal break from her estranged husband Quincy Timberlake, formally dropping his surname 16 years after she first adopted it.
Gazette Notice No. 16203, published on 9th October, confirms that Arunga executed a deed poll on 2nd October 2026, renouncing the name Esther Adongo Timberlake and reclaiming her birth name.
The filing, handled by her advocates LAK Advocates, was registered at the Registry of Documents in Nairobi as Presentation No. 64, Volume D1, Folio 918/3321.
The notice reads in part: more:
“NOTICE is given that by a deed poll dated 2nd October, 2026, duly executed and registered in the Registry of Documents at Nairobi… by our client, Esther Adongo Arunga… formerly known as Esther Adongo Timberlake, formally and absolutely renounced and abandoned the use of her former name Esther Adongo Timberlake and in lieu thereof assumed and adopted the name Esther Adongo Arunga, for all purposes.”
What led to the name change?
Arunga had publicly announced she was taking on the Timberlake name back in March 2010, shortly after marrying Quincy Timberlake. The years that followed proved deeply painful. The couple relocated to Australia, where in June 2014 their three-year-old son, Sinclair Timberlake, died under tragic circumstances.
Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory in the case and received a 10-month prison sentence before being released on parole in 2019.
Quincy Timberlake’s legal process took considerably longer; he pleaded guilty in September 2023 and was handed an 11-year sentence after admitting to fatally injuring the boy. Reports from June 2026 indicated he had completed the custodial portion of his sentence but remained in immigration detention at that time.
The Gazette notice lists Arunga’s address as P.O. Box 22568-00100, Nairobi, sparking speculation that she may have returned to Kenya, though this has not been independently confirmed.
From Kenya’s screens to the courts
Before the controversy upended her life, Arunga was among the most recognisable faces on Kenyan television, anchoring news at KTN and hosting programmes at Capital FM.
She was admitted to the Bar in 2009 and won the Chaguo La Teeniez Award for Best Teen TV Anchor in 2008, achievements that once made her a celebrated figure in Kenyan media.
The name reversal is the latest chapter in a long and difficult journey for Arunga, and many Kenyans will be watching closely to see what comes next for the once-beloved broadcaster.
