minister's brief bio

Center, with colleagues at a press conference

by Maurice Maina

During the height of the KANU democracy (or was it autocracy?) the Kenyan leader choose the hard way. Rather than join a ruling clique that was largely associated with ruthless plunder of national resources, he chose to side with the impoverished masses.

His local nemesis, John Joseph (J.J) Kamotho went the easier way. J.J. went against the wishes of his constituents becoming a mouthpiece, sometimes irritative, of the then oppressive and openly corrupt regime.

This saw the two politicians take diametrically opposite positions in the society. The deceased Minister, John Michuki, remained steadfast with the locals. This saw him locked out of government for decades.

J.J chose to please the then system and, as a result, the local electorate rejected him. He was, however, to the chagrin of the locals, nominated to parliament and in to the cabinet by the system.

It is instructive that despite J.J’s insistence on supporting the system, the locals barely benefited. It can, Indeed, be argued that, it benefited him personally, than otherwise.

The KANU system, eventually, lost its wits on the hands of progressive forces of democracy led by, the then opposition chief, Mwai Kibaki, with the support of his Democratic party and a loosely organized coalition National Alliance of Kenya that comprised of the eloquent, Kijana Wamalwa, and veteran politician, Charity Ngilu.

They were joined by disgruntled elements within the dying regime, that included the long suffering Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, George Saitoti among others.

Immediately after that historic 2002 election victory the new government hit the ground running. Kenyans, who had been fatigued by the ineptitude of the foregoing regime, gave them all the support needed.

It was not long, however, before struggles for power took centre stage. At this time it can, arguably, be stated the only minister who remained steadfast to the wishes of impoverished and abused Kenyans was Minister Michuki.

Many Kenyans will remember the impunity with which the public transport system used to operate. Passengers were packed like, those, sacks of illegal cannabis. Touts poked the noses of those who dared protest.

It was the departed minister who put his foot down and demanded sanity and discipline among the crew. Both of which had been missing.

At this juncture the -sleek crew- were among the few Kenyans, who alongside the traffic police and the corrupt, used to be very liquid in terms of money to throw around.

The victims included the, mostly teenage, girls who would rather they spend their days in the matatus for cheap and fast life, rather than at school. Money, drugs and sex trade were common.

The Minister’s demands were, of course, met with tough resistance. The public transport sector ground to a screeching halt. He, true to his resolve, insisted on sanity. It eventually came.

The minister’s past has been traced to the colonial times, when he served as a home guard. After independence he was among the first African executives to serve in the government and corporate world. He is renowned for his sheer aggression that demonstrated a determination in all his endeavors.

Unlike politicians who shift like sand, he put his money where his mouth was. He was always predictable. He once hit at the media with a famous one liner: ‘when you rattle a snake, you better be prepared to be bitten.’

The Kenyan minister was later in charge of internal security where he came across the local Mafioso in the form of vigilantes, who had this nasty habit of committing massacres to instill fear and gain control of informal political power.

This was, perhaps, his most daunting task yet. He went crushing their heads. Just as they did to their victims. It was quite encounter: between the minister and the Mafioso. A ceasefire occurred at the cost of human lives on both sides.

But perhaps the most uncelebrated hat of the former minister is his last role as the minister for environment. He was vocal on plastic menace locally while still keen on global environment.

The local media never really celebrated his global diplomatic advocacy of environment preservation. He was a keen proponent of the Kyoto protocol that demanded, or rather requested, the most industrialized nations to take a proportionate share of responsibility to global environmental changes.

It can, thus, be said he left while advocating for his local people globally.