Listen In appointing Khalif Minister for Labour and Manpower Development in 2003, Kibaki had brought to his government one of the most iconic leaders of the Second Liberation movement from northern Kenya — a region not associated at the time with mainstream opposition politics. The pride of Wajir, he became the first Cabinet minister from […]
Listen The aftermath of the these elections had plunged Kenya into uncertainty as post-polls violence threatened to ground the country. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) led by Raila Odinga had refused to accept the results of the Presidential election, which declared Kibaki, running under the Party of National Unity (PNU), as the victor. This protest […]
Listen On January 15, 2008, at the height of the post-election violence that erupted after the disputed 2007 election, the then 33-year-old MP stirred up drama in Parliament when he swore by “President Raila Amolo Odinga”, contrary to the prescribed oath-taking manner where officials swore by the elected President and the country. Mr Namwamba inserted […]
Listen Oginga Odinga was, undoubtedly, the doyen of opposition politics in the colonial and the post-independence eras. Since the colonial times, he was known for his political and ideological consistency. Odinga was a fearless leader. Unlike many politicians, Jaramogi, as his admirers fondly referred to him, would not compromise his ideals, notwithstanding the consequences. He […]
Listen Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi was appointed second Vice-President in May, 1966, following the fallout between President Kenyatta and Vice-President Odinga. Earlier, Murumbi had been independent Kenya’s first Foreign Affairs Minister. Murumbi was born in 1911 at Londiani, Kericho, to a Goan trader and a Maasai woman. In a media interview, he remembered his mother as […]
Listen The son of the Senior Chief Josiah Njonjo, Charles Mugane Njonjo was born at Kabete, Kiambu, on January 23, 1920, in a family of four brothers and four sisters. Three of the sisters are alive. While his detractors have always spoken of Njonjo as the man with the colonial hangover and hates everything African, […]
Listen Roy Bruce McKenzie earned the distinction of being the only minister in the colonial government who retained his position upon Independence and held the portfolio until 1969, when he resigned on health grounds. He was the Minister for Agriculture. The South African-born politician is credited with steering Kenya’s agricultural economy through its worst period […]
Listen Kibaki named Charity Kaluki Ngilu the Minister for Health, Martha Wangari Karua as Minister for Water Resources Management and Development, and Linah Jebii Kilimo as Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President. Also appointed were environmentalist Wangari Maathai as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Beth Mugo as Assistant […]
Listen Appointed to the critical Agriculture docket when the farming sector was at its lowest ebb – and in the dispensation of a President who gave his ministers a free hand to apply themselves – Kirwa soon gave farmers a reason to go back to the soil. Agriculture was the backbone of the country’s economy […]
Listen In the race for the parliamentary seat, Mohamud vied on a Kenya African National Union (KANU) party ticket and beat opponents from six Opposition parties – FORD-Asili, Safina, Kenya Social Congress, Social Democratic Party, Democratic Party and National Development Party. Mohamud became the sixth MP for Wajir East, with KANU winning three out of […]