Mutula Kilonzo (2 July 1948 – 27 April 2013) was a Kenyan politician and

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

, who served as Minister of Education after having previously served as the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan and justice and constitutional affairs He belonged to the Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (now Wiper Democratic Movement) and was elected to represent the

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 ...

as Senator in the 2013 general elections.

Early life and education

Kilonzo was born to Mzee Wilson Kilonzo Musembi and Mama Rhoda Koki Kilonzo. He was the second born. The young boy had to repeat class one for lack of fifteen shillings in school fees. Kilonzo was educated at Mbooni Primary School and

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_ ...

before joining

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

in 1969, graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Law – the first in the East African region.

Political career

In the

National Assembly of Kenya The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...

in the December 2007 parliamentary election. He was Minister for

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Metropolitan Development until being appointed as Minister of Justice and constitutional affairs on 4 May 2009. He was the minister of education until April 2013 when the newly elected president was sworn in. He is on record for having controversially pushed for school girls not to be forced to wear "nun-like" skirts. He won Makueni senatorial race in 2013 by defeating John Harun Mwau.

Legal career

He previously served as private attorney to the late President Moi. Mutula Kilonzo made his debut in parliament as a nominated M.P for K.A.N.U in January 2003. When the first round of the presidential election took place on 4 March 2013.

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 ...

was declared the

president-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...

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

by the

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in the year 2011 through the making of the Constitution of Kenya. The Commission is responsible for conducting or supervising refere ...

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

challenged this in the

Supreme Court of Kenya The Supreme Court of Kenya is the highest court in Kenya. It is established under Article 163 of the Kenyan Constitution. As the highest court in the nation, its decisions are binding and set precedent on all other courts in the country. Jurisdi ...

. He was one of the many lawyer assembled by Raila Odinga to draft and offer legal services on the petition. The petition was dismissed on 30 March 2013.

Personal life

Mr Kilonzo divorced his first wife – the mother of Wanza and lawyers Kethi Kilonzo, Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and Michael Musembi a businessman – in a landmark divorce which he was represented by Samuel Kivuitu. He married his second wife Nduku Musau, a daughter of the late Machakos mega-tycoon Musau Mwania, with whom they had three children; Muathi Kilonzo a financial expert, Mutune and Musau. His first wife lives in Nairobi Riara Estate. On 8 May 2013, a Eunice Nthenya was granted court order to conduct a DNA test to prove that Kilonzo fathered her a son Jackson Muuo who was born on 5 May 2006. she claimed that they had a relationship between 2005 and 2008. She is a daughter to Kilonzo herdsman Robert Kavita Malinda.

Death

Kilonzo died at his farm bordering Maanzoni lodge on Mombasa road

Machakos County Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is ...

on 27 April 2013. Investigations into Senator Mutula Kilonzo's death have ruled out a heart attack and have narrowed down to a likelihood of poisoning. Massive internal bleeding and a finding that all his internal organs were intact was a pointer to the presence of a toxin. An examination of the body had revealed that both the arteries and the heart had not been ruptured as is normally the case when one suffers a heart attack, the source said. The postmortem examination was conducted by seven doctors, led by the chief government pathologist, Dr Johansen Oduor and his colleague Dr Dorothy Njeru at the Lee Funeral Home in

. British pathologist Calder Ian Maddison flew to Kenya at the family's request and took part in the examination. The exercise was witnessed by Machokos senator Johnstone Muthama, family doctor Luke Musau and Dr Emily Rogena. Others were Dr Frederick Okinyi government pathologist of Machakos where he died, and family forensic pathologist Andrew Kanyi Gachie. He was buried on 9 May at his home in Woyani village, Utangwa location,

in line with his wishes. A requiem mass was held on 8 May at the Nairobi Baptist Church.

Legacy

Mwaki Foundation which he said he founded in 2007 for his philanthropic efforts.Mwaki foundation ww.mwakifoundation.org/ref>

References

External links

Hon. Mutula Kilonzo Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilonzo, Mutula 1948 births 2013 deaths Members of the Senate of Kenya 20th-century Kenyan lawyers Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya politicians Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Kenya African National Union politicians Government ministers of Kenya University of Dar es Salaam alumni Kenya School of Law alumni People from Makueni County Kamba people