Kivutha Kibwana (born June 13, 1954) is a Kenyan politician and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

. He was Minister for Defence, Minister for Environment and a former member of parliament for the

Makueni Constituency Makueni Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of six constituencies in Makueni County Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. ...

. He is also a former advisor to President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

. Prof. Kibwana's second term as the first Governor of Makueni County ended in 2022.

Early life and education

Kibwana was born in 1954 in Mwanyani, a remote part located in Nzaui District,

Makueni County Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...

. He studied at Nduundune Primary School. He later attended

Machakos School Machakos School, otherwise known as Machakos High School, is a boys national school located in Machakos county in Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_ ...

(1969-1973) for his O’ and A’ Levels. He obtained a bachelor's degree in law (Upper Second Class Honours) from the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

in 1976 and a Masters of Law. He also went to

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in June 1984.

Career

He was the spokesperson of the National Convention Executive Council (NCEC) from 1997 to 2002. At the University of Nairobi, he also served as the Associate Professor (1977-2002), Dean of the Faculty of Law, a senior lecturer, and chairman of the Department of private law. In 2002, he became a Member of Parliament for Makueni Constituency and Minister of both Land and Settlements and Environment & Natural Resources. In January 2008, he was appointed as Presidential Advisor for Constitutional, Parliamentary & Youth Affairs in the President's Office and served until September 2012.

Makueni County Governor

During the Kenyan general elections of 2013, Prof. Kibwana was elected as the first governor of

under the Muungano Development Movement Party which he was leading. Disagreements with majority of members of the Makueni County Assembly who belonged to the Wiper Democratic Movement Party had him consider resigning from the position of governor in the same year he was elected. While Prof. Kibwana did not resign, a petition was filed to suspend Makueni County citing that the Kibwana-led executive and the assembly were operating at extreme levels of disagreement. The sharp disagreements persisted to the extent that a commission appointed by

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 l ...

recommended the dissolution of the county government. The commission's recommendation was overruled by President Kenyatta. In 2017, Professor Kibwana's Muungano party entered a pre-election pact with the Wiper Democratic Movement Party. Kibwana was appointed chairman of the Wiper Democratic Movement Party. Professor Kibwana was subsequently re-elected as Makueni Governor for a second term as Governor for Makueni County at the 2017 general elections. One year after being elected, Kibwana fell out with

Kalonzo Musyoka Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka (born 24 December 195is a Kenyan politician who was the tenth Vice-President of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Musyoka served in the government under the late President Daniel arap Moi and was List of Foreign Ministers of Ke ...

, the Wiper Democratic Movement Party Leader. This led to admonishment of Prof. Kibwana by other politicians belonging to the Wiper party. The fall out culminated in an announcement by

that the agreement between Muungano Party and the Wiper Party had expired. Prof. Kibwana also claimed that he would have been re-elected regardless of the pre-election pact with the Wiper party. In July 2019, Prof. Kivutha was replaced as Chairman of the Wiper party by

Chirau Ali Mwakwere Chirau Ali Mwakwere (born June 15, 1945, in Kwale, Kenya) is a Kenyan politician and diplomat. He served as the Foreign Minister of Kenya from June 2004 to December 2005, and then became transport minister in December 2005, when serious problems wi ...

Performance as governor

In the final fiscal year of Prof. Kibwana's first term as governor, Makueni county registered an unspent development budget amounting to 1.5 Billion Kenya Shillings (about 15 million US Dollars). A report of the Auditor General's Office for the subsequent fiscal year 2017/18 ranked Prof. Kibwana's Makueni Government alongside Nyandarua County Government as the best in the use of public funds. This was the first fiscal year of Prof. Kibwana's second term as Makueni Governor. In early 2018, media reports depicted Prof. Kibwana as most well-performing of Kenya's 47 Governors. The reports linked this to Makueni County's implementation of

Universal Health Care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

and its support of agro-processing for the economic empowerment of farmers

2022 presidential ambition

Prof. Kibwana has expressed interest in vying to be the 5th president of the Republic of Kenya in the 2022 general elections. This is despite views that he will be endorsing the candidacy of the incumbent deputy president Dr. William Samoei Arap Ruto. In an October 2019 interview, Prof. Kibwana showed hesitance in vying for the Presidency terming a presidential campaign so expensive that one has to have accumulated immense wealth to afford vying. He indicated that he would be willing to serve as a pro bono president if his basic needs were met. Prof. Kibwana's presidential bid will be after serving a maximum of two five-year terms as Governor of Makueni County as per the Kenyan Constitution

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibwana, Kivutha Living people Alumni of the University of London George Washington University alumni County Governors of Kenya Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Government ministers of Kenya Harvard University alumni 1954 births People from Makueni County