This woman, Waiguru: Things you didn't know about the Cabinet Secretary

 Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru

Once in a while, when time allows and there isn’t much noise from the outside world, Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru turns up the volume of her hi-fi system, lets the music play, drops her guard and dances her heart out to RnB.

But even as she does this, there is a likelihood that at the same exact time, there is someone from the opposition or in her own Jubilee coalition burning the midnight oil planning her downfall.

Waiguru’s is among the few ministries that, despite having a media and public relations department, has gone ahead to commission several PR firms to manage, not only her image, but that of her ministry. This, for a long time, kept any negative news about her away from newspaper headlines and blogs.

But it was only a matter of time before all the carefully placed layers fell off. In any case, she has survived multiple attempts to oust her from her position of power and influence and like the proverbial cat with nine lives, she has survived every time.

The first was by Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi which fell flat on its face when the legislator failed to move it. The second and more recent one was the attempt by the vocal Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter which failed to take off after some members of the House who had pledged support for his motion pulled out at the last minute.

And now, she has somehow managed to step away from the eye of the NYS storm and could become a witness instead in one of the most brazen acts of corruption by civil servants who not only conspired to defraud the NYS of hundreds of millions of shillings, but also managed to siphon almost Sh800 million from the same organisation.

All this under the watch of Waiguru and the ministry she heads. She is likely to turn State witness on this matter and testify against her former and current employees.

But who is Anne Waiguru and what makes her tick? Why would she, from public perception, seem to enjoy a level of protection from the powers that be?

On the eve of the impeachment motion by Keter, President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted MPs from Central Kenya, some of whom had been in support of the Keter motion. After the State House meeting, their signatures disappeared from Keter’s petition.

Each and every move she has made seems well calculated, perhaps a testimony to her background in sciences.

She attended Precious Blood Riruta High School, then sat her A-level exams in 1989 at Moi Forces Academy in Nairobi, where she studied mathematics, physics and chemistry.

On graduating from the University of Nairobi, she worked for Transparency International as an intern and research assistant, and then joined the Kenya Leadership Institute, which flaunted some of the best economists in the country at the time. In terms of career, she has got it down to the tee. But why is she such a divisive figure if she has the brains to match her current appointment?

There are no gray areas when it comes to dealing with her. There is no fence-sitting. At the moment, she is the most visible Cabinet Secretary within the Jubilee administration. But her appointment to the mammoth devolution ministry raised eyebrows.

First, its sheer size and the number of ministries collapsed to form her docket had pundits and commentators foaming at the mouth, some arguing that the responsibilities bestowed upon her were too much for a newbie. She is on record as having rejected this notion.

“There’s a lot of work, but I have been in the service for quite a number of years. I worked similar hours while at Treasury. It is busy, but not any busier than others...all of us just find a way of keeping our eyes focused. It requires a lot of hours,” she said during an interview on KTN’s Person of Interest morning show.

Since her appointment, she has proceeded on a path previously uncharted, including restructuring a hugely traditional and male dominated service. But as she did this, she emerged as an individual to whom many favours are owed, by so many. This might be a testament to her days at Precious Blood School, through to Moi Forces Academy and on to the University of Nairobi, institutions in which bonds are treasured and friendships are jealously guarded and protected, sometimes at all costs. She continues to hold her own, including throwing her number two under the bus in full view of the nation during an appearance in front of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee and the Ethics and Ant Corruption Committee, laying all blame on his lap. Her PS eventually retracted a previously tabled document, saying it was erroneous, proving, maybe, that she not only has the brains to go with her job, but the brawn too.

Other than music, Waiguru also enjoys a good read. Maybe she has read Sun Tzu’s Art of War. To survive for this long in such an acrimonious space requires tactics, strategy godfather or all of the above.

Cord leader Raila Odinga says she has no halo over her head. In fact, from the opposition leader’s point of view, Waiguru is the grand puppet master of the NYS show.

“I believe Peter Mangiti and Nelson Githinji are not alone in whatever they are accused of doing. They are just but the apostles of the High Priestess of corruption in Kenya, whom, for some mysterious reasons, the Jubilee regime is determined to protect at all costs,” the Cord leader said at a recent press conference.

Kenya seems to be listening to a different tune to what Waiguru’s stereo is playing. But she sure is dancing.