Politician: Losing six-month-old baby, lowest moment in my life

Anthony Kibagendi with Raila Odinga, Party Leader Azimio la Umoja Coalition.

Kitutu Chache South MP ANTHONY KIBAGENDI speaks to EDWIN NYARANGI about the ups and downs in his life and journey from campus student leader, Raila campaigner to then-DP Ruto's advisor

Tell us about your leadership journey.I served as the Secretary General of Maseno University Students Association and later founded a political part, VIPA, which was a bridge for especially young people to venture into politics. I was also the Vice Chairman of FORA (Friends of Raila), one of the biggest lobby groups that campaigned for Raila Odinga in 2013 and 2017. Later after losing the Kitutu Chache South parliamentary election in 2017, then-Deputy President William Ruto appointed me as his advisor on Youth Affairs, which was a wonderful learning experience in government operations and, of course, his political brilliance rubbed on me.

What is your professional background?I studied a Bachelor of Education Degree specialising in English Literature at Maseno University but immediately after college, I did not practice my career but ventured into a car hire business and running a security firm which I still do to date. Why did you defect from Ruto to Raila's camp in the recent election?That was a masterstroke. You know I consider myself Raila's son, and my constituency is an ODM zone. I had to do what I had to do to get elected as I also supported Raila Odinga to get elected as President. Basically, I listened to the ground and here I am today.

You have worked closely with President Ruto. How would you describe him?Ruto is a great leader, gifted in many ways. He is a good listener, heeds to advice and he is very spontaneous. He believes in young people, too. That is why you see the team around him is mainly composed of youthful minds. I believe he will do an excellent job as President.

You were elected into office on your second attempt, what did you do differently?Mine is a long story. I started pursuing this dream way back in campus after serving as a student leader. I felt that Kitutu Chache South needed better representation that recognises the diversity of the constituents. I engaged myself in various political activities in Kisii County which enabled me to build a name and network which have been very helpful in my political journey. Given that I emerged second in 2017, I found it easier to clinch the seat with my predecessor going for the Kisii Senator seat.

You are one of the youngest MPs, what is your agenda for the youth? The first and most important agenda is that I would urge the government to focus on providing affordable credit for young people to invest in entrepreneurship, thereby creating jobs. Secondly, it is to prepare our youth for the job market and most importantly aggressively invest in technical training colleges so that we can have more technicians like plumbers, masons, electricians, mechanics and tailors, among many others who will immediately become self-employed. Finally, the government must make deliberate efforts in creating jobs and build respectable foreign relations so that we can export our human resource to other countries.

What is your agenda for the people of Kitutu Chache South constituency?Kitutu Chache South has a number of challenges that require immediate attention. Complacency had cropped into the leadership that was there before. We want to work on improving our road network, improve on our schools infrastructure, improving security in our constituency and build a cohesive constituency embracing all communities. Given that I am the fourth MP to represent the constituency since independence, I would like to be remembered as the leader who turned around the lives of his people for the better.

What are some of the challenges you faced during campaigns?The first challenge of course for a young man like me is inadequate resources. Secondly is the propaganda and other cultural disadvantages, like now for me, my opponents, and even the area Senator who has been my opponent before ganged up to lie to the electorate that I am not a native of Kitutu Chache South, just because I was raised by a single mother. They were so obsessed with this propaganda, but like what President Ruto has taught us, I turned it around and it worked pretty well in my favour and I thank God for shaming my political enemies.

Keep Reading

Any lessons you have learnt in politics so far?There are very many lessons learnt in my engagement in politics, but I have learnt that one has to work very hard, you must be a people's person and employ a lot of resilience. Always keeping in touch with my constituents is very important. We have seen leaders who appeared popular at national level but they lost touch with the ground. I detest the deceit practiced in politics and will try to be different in my engagements with the electorate.

Any other future political ambitions?I would like to serve the people of Kitutu Chache South as their Member of National Assembly for two terms to the best of my abilities. I will like to use my track record as MP to propel me to serve the people of Kisii County as their Governor for two terms. If my performance as Member of Parliament and Governor will be exemplary, I will definitely contest to be the President of Kenya one day.

Briefly tell us about your family?I have been married for 12 years to my dear wife and we are blessed with two children. Our mother brought up my two sisters and I. I am very grateful for the sacrifices that my mother has made to make us reach where we are today. My wife, my mother and sisters played a great role in my campaigns and I will forever remain indebted to them.

Tell us about the lowest moment in your life?My lowest moment in life is when my six-month-old first born daughter, Amara, choked on her food and died as she was being fed by our nanny in March 2012. Amara's death really affected my wife and I. We took a lot of time to cope as we grieved. It even affected my political bid in 2013. The incident led to my wife forming the Amara Initiative where mothers and nannies are trained on first aid tips in partnership with Kenya Red Cross Society and Africa Air Rescue once a month in different estates in Nairobi with participants paying a small fee. This incident really changed our lives since we blamed ourselves for not having taken our nanny for a training in first aid which could have made a difference.