Passaris celebrates her father in touching tribute and reveals how he met her mother
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has joined other leaders in marking this year’s Father’s Day by paying tribute to her late father, Papou, who passed away in 2022.
In her message on her official X account on Sunday, June 15, 2025, she remembered him not only as a devoted parent but also as a man who kept his promises and built his life from humble beginnings.
Passaris recounted the touching love story between her parents. She revealed that her father, then a young naval architect serving in the Greek Navy, docked in Mombasa during a naval mission where he met her mother, Mary Marietta Wanjiru Joubert.
Despite just meeting, he promised to return and marry her after completing his mission, a promise he fulfilled.
Passaris mentioned that during their courtship, her father wrote her mother letters filled with what she described as imperfect English but perfect love. These letters, she said, are still treasured by her mother to this day.
True to his word, her father returned to Kenya after completing his service and began his life not just as a husband but as a man determined to build a future.
“As a young naval architect serving in the Greek Navy, Papou docked in Mombasa during a naval mission. There, destiny introduced him to a beautiful woman named Mary Marietta Wanjiru Joubert, my mother. Though their time together was brief, he made a promise: ‘As soon as I finish my mandatory duty in the Navy, I will return for you’. And he kept his word,” Passaris stated.
She went on to detail her father’s entrepreneurship journey. He began with a job at Southern Engineering Company Ltd., a marine and offshore engineering firm in Mombasa.
Over time, he climbed the ranks, trained many young professionals, and eventually founded his own marine engineering company, HELMACO.
He also supported the youth by founding the Ngome Football Club, promoting teamwork, community, and discipline.
“His first job in Kenya was at Southern Engineering Company Ltd., a marine and offshore engineering firm in Mombasa. From there, he rose through the ranks, trained dozens of young professionals, and eventually started his own marine engineering company, HELMACO Z. Inspired by youth, he founded a football club, Ngome, believing that teamwork, sport, and community were as vital as work and prayer,” she continued.
Passaris described her father as a strict but loving man whose discipline helped shape her life. She emphasised that his stern nature came from a place of love and dedication to family and values.
Message to absent fathers
She did not shy away from addressing social issues in her message. Passaris criticised the growing trend of absent fathers in today’s society, noting that many are not absent due to death but because they have chosen to disappear.
She urged men who are not ready for the responsibilities of fatherhood not to gamble with the futures of women and children.
“Too many fathers are absent not because they died but because they disappeared. So this Father’s Day, let’s speak truth: if you’re not ready to be a father, don’t gamble with a woman’s future or a child’s life. If you fathered a child, go find them,” she concluded.
