THE SECOND GOVERNOR OF MERU COUNTY
A humble Family
Man Kiraitu Murungi was born during the start of the Mau Mau struggle in 1952 and grew up in great poverty with his mother Anjelika in a detention camp where he had to sleep in the open for over a year in a state of near-starvation. His father, Daniel Kiraitu, was one of the key Mau Mau leaders in Meru. He is married to Priscilla Kathuguchi and they have four children; Nkatha, Mwenda, Makena and Kendi.
A Statesman
Kiraitu Murungi is one of the greatest sons of Meru. He has had an extraordinary career as a Law teacher, a Lawyer, a Human Rights Activist, a Member of Parliament, a Party Leader, A cabinet Minister and a Senator. He has distinguished himself as a visionary and credible political leader. He is a passionate social organizer who has made enormous contribution to Kenya’s national and political development. Indeed, during the Kenya@50 celebrations in December 2013, Kiraitu was among the Fifty (50) prominent Kenyans who were honoured with the Jubilee Award for exemplary contribution to public aff airs in Kenya.
The People’s Lawyer
Kiraitu studied law at the University of Nairobi where he obtained both a Bachelors and a Masters degree. He later obtained another Masters in Law Degree from the prestigious Harvard Law School in the United States of America, where President Barack Obama was his classmate. He has taught in both the University of Nairobi and the Kenya School of Law. His law fi rm, Kamau Kuria, Kiraitu and Ringera Advocates, was the fi rst one to represent political detainees during the single party regime and went on to become the most famous and successful constitutional litigation law fi rm in Kenya. He is currently the Senior Partner at Humphrey & Company Advocates LLP in Nairobi.
Focussed and development oriented
As a Member of Parliament for South Imenti, he worked very hard to empower the people by supporting local development programmes. He has supported the youth to start many programmes and he has been at the forefront of introducing income generating projects. Kiraitu Murungi has worked with the youth since he was fi rst elected to Parliament in 1992. Over the years he has struggled with youth poverty, apathy and despair through the South Imenti Development Association (SIDA), South Imenti Credit Company (SICCO), South Imenti Youth Development Programme (SYDP) and South Imenti Youth Company (SIYCO). He intends to expand and replicate these programs at the County level. Through his family foundation, the Kiraitu Murungi Foundation, he has supported bright Meru students to pursue higher education in National Schools. The Foundation is also engaged in the promotion of Kimeru history and culture, traditional dances, sports and promising Meru musicians. He accelerated expansion of agricultural production through irrigation and expanding the service sector base in his constituency to empower the youth.
Visionary leader
Kiraitu joined Parliament at the height of the agitation for multi-party democracy in 1992. As an MP, he transformed his constituency, South Imenti, into an economic giant, making it one of the most prosperous rural area in Kenya. His constituents affi rm that he is a visionary, a great political leader, a teacher and a passionate organiser who led the constituency into great transformation in terms of roads, agriculture, education and youth programs.
Kiraitu was a key pillar in the government of President Kibaki where he served in various important positions including chairperson of the Cabinet Anti-Corruption Committee; member of the National Security and Foreign Relations Committee; Member of the Cabinet InfrastructureCommittee, and Cabinet Committee on the Constitution. Kiraitu was also a member of the National Economic and Social Council which crafted Kenya’s economic blue print, the Vision 2030.
As the Minister for Energy, Kiraitu radically transformed the energy sector. He pioneered the rural electrifi cation program which has connected most urban centres, secondary schools, health centres and other public facilities to electricity. During his tenure as Minister for Energy, electricity connectivity in rural areas grew from 6% to 30% and the number of customers countrywide grew from 800,000 to over 2 million. He accelerated fossil fuel exploration in the country leading to the discovery of coal, oil and gas for the fi rst time in the history of Kenya.
