Joshua Wakahora Irungu (born 2 February 1970) is a Kenyan
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and community development specialist. He was appointed to the position of Chairperson of Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) in Feb 2019. He is the first and third governor of the
County of Laikipia first serving from 2013 to 2017, representing the
Jubilee Coalition
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
party
TNA and securing a return running on a
UDA ticket in 2022.
Education
Joshua Irungu holds a master's degree in Agriculture and Rural Development in addition to a bachelor's degree in Resource Management from
Egerton University
Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya.
Location
The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. T ...
.
Career
Up until the year 2000, Joshua Irungu was a civil servant in Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture. He was in charge of Agriculture and Livestock Development officers in charge of Laikipia West and Nyahururu divisions of what was then Laikipia District. He resigned from government and joined USAID, for whom he was in charge of the International Small Group and Tree planting programme(ISGTPP).
In total he has over 15 years experience in Community Development programmes in Laikipia County.
2013 General Elections
Joshua Irungu, and his running mate
Josephat Kabugi Gitonga won the 2013 Gubernatorial election in Laikipia County by a landslide, having secured the nomination of the National Alliance party earlier in the year.
Governorship Tenure
Joshua Irungu's tenure as governor ran into controversy due to his association with a move by Kenyan politicians calling for the evicting of white settlers from the country. He was said to have demanded the departure of settlers of British origin from Laikipia County for 'failure to support deferral of cases facing President
Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...
and his deputy
William Ruto
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966) is a Kenyan politician who is serving as the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the 11th deputy president of Ken ...
at the international Criminal Court' a statement for which he later apologized.
2017 General Elections
Joshua Irungu was narrowly defeated in the 2017 Governor's race by Independent candidate Ndiritu Muriithi.
Family
Joshua Irungu is married to Grace Wakahora and a father of three sons and a daughter.
H.E. Joshua Irungu: County Government of Laikipia
References
External links
* http://kenyalaw.org/kenya_gazette/gazette/notice/200578
Council of Governors page
Official Facebook page
1970 births
County Governors of Kenya
Living people
Kikuyu people
People from Laikipia County
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