Stanley Nyagah (1936–2005), nicknamed Kĩthũng'a, was a

Kenyan ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

educationist, civil servant, technocrat and, entrepreneur who, between 1983 -1988, served as Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Embu North constituency, now split into

Runyenjes Runyenjes is the second largest town in Embu County, Kenya. It is located about 150 km from Nairobi, and 75 km from Mount Kenya, at an altitude of 1500m.The population is estimated at 58,000 people, the majority of which are of the Em ...

constituency and

Manyatta Manyatta is a settlement in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = ...

constituency. His campaign symbol was a key ''(rũvungoro)''. The key symbolized the opening up of hitherto inaccessible public resources to the masses. While in parliament, he served on the public investments committee. He is credited with being a visionary and development oriented leader. Nyagah initiated a rural electrification programme, piped water supply system and improvements in the road network in Embu North. He helped set up two boarding primary schools (Kubukubu and Kamûthatha). He was nicknamed ''Kĩthũng'a'' in reference to heavy duty

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

trucks that ferried timber from Mt Kenya forest. Since there were no roads in the forest, the truck would flatten vegetation to carve out a path. Nyagah was born on the slopes of

Mt Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

at Ka-mavĩndĩ (the place of bones) farm in Mũkũũrĩ sub-location on 12th September 1936 to Esther Kerû and Stanley Ngaithia, the 4th of their 10 children. He belongs to the Rwamba clan. He went to

Muragari School Muragari Primary School is the third-oldest school in Embu, Kenya. It was founded 1932 by the National Independent Church of Africa near the current Mukuuri Township, Kagaari North Ward, Runyenjes Sub County. It was razed by colonialists in 1952 ...

. Thereafter, he attended St Paul's High School - Kevote and went for 'A' levels in Uganda, before proceeding to the US. He enrolled at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

for his BA and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

- Maxwell School of Government in upstate New York for his MPA, graduating ''summa cum laude''. He lived and worked in

, UK while he studied accounting and was the first Kenyan to receive certification from the

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwid ...

(ACCA), the global body for professional accountants. On 1st July 1967, he was appointed the head of department (local government) at the Kenya Institute of Administration (now th

Kenya School of Government). Later, Nyagah rose to the position of deputy principal at the same institution. He founded the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (KASNEB) in 1969 and served as its pioneer secretary. In the 1970s he worked as a senior deputy permanent secretary in the Office of the President in the Directorate of Personnel Management. He was an authority in local government and public policy/finance. Upon retirement in 1988, he cultivated his coffee estates, particularly the 'Rûiru 11' variety of the Arabica coffee plant. Nyagah processed the coffee beans at his mill which he then supplied to the Kenya Planters' Cooperative Union at

Sagana Sagana is a small industrial town in Kirinyaga District, Central, Kenya. It is along the Nairobi-Nyeri highway, 100 kilometres north of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Its name comes from Kenya's longest river, Sagana River which is also called T ...

. He was a dairy farmer and reared Friesian,

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

cows. Nyagah died in 2005 following a period of infirmity. He is survived by his widow Jane and, 6 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyaga, Stanley Kenyan politicians 1930s births 2005 deaths