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Kenya’s 2013 presidential candidates
By Njeri Kabuga
As Kenya’s presidential elections draw nearer, the number and names of candidates joining and leaving the race
keep changing. In our previous magazine, we reviewed Eugene Wamalwa, George Luchiri, James Ole Kiyiapi and
Martha Karua. In this article, Njeri reviews Peter Kenneth, Raila Ondinga, Raphael Tuju and Kalonzo Musyoka. She will
conclude this series in November by analysing Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi and Charity Ngilu.
Peter Kenneth
Party: Kenya National Congress (KNC)
Peter Kenneth was born 1965. He
attended Bahati Uhuru primary school
before joining Starehe Boys Center in
Nairobi. He studied law in the University
of Nairobi and management at the
International Institute for Management
Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He was first elected a Member of
Parliament for Gatanga Constituency,
Murang’a County in December 2002, a
seat he holds to date. He has also been
the Assistant Minister, Ministry of State
for Planning, National Development and
Vision 2030 since 2008 up to date. He
was the Assistant Minister for Finance
till between December 2005 and
November 2007. Previously, he served
as the Assistant Minister for Cooperative
Development and Marketing from
November 2003 to 2005. Mr. Kenneth is
a professional banker who has worked
in the as a manager of Prudential
Finance and Bank (1986-1997) and the
Chairman of Kenya Football Federation
(1996-2000). He has been the director of
Africa Reinsurance Corporation (1998-
2001) and Industrial Development Bank
(1998-2002) and also served as the
Chairman of PTA Reinsurance Company
(1998-2009).
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Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. He was born
in January 1945 in Maseno, Nyanza
province. He studied at Kisumu Union
Primary School, Maranda High School
where before joining Herder Institute,
University of Leipzig in East Germany.
In 1965 he went to the Technical
University, Magdeburg in Germany
where he graduated with a degree in
Mechanical Engineering in 1970. He
returned to Kenya in 1970 and became
a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
In 1971, he established the Standard
Processing Equipment Construction
and Erection Ltd. This was later renamed
East African Spectre limited. He was
appointed group standards manager
of the Kenya Bureau of Standards in
1974. He became its Deputy Director
in 1978, a post he held until he was
detained by the government in 1982.
He has been the MP for Langata since
1992. He has served as the Minister of
Energy (2001-2002) and the Minister
of Roads, Public Works, and Housing
(2003-2005). He became the Prime
Minister in April 2008 and serves as the
supervisor of national unity coalition
government in Kenya.
Raphael Tuju
Party: Party of Action (POA)
Born in March, 1959 Mr Tuju has
studied at Starehe Boys’ Centre and
holds a Master of Arts (MA) Degree
in Mass Communication from the
University of Leicester in United
Kingdom. He worked as a television
producer with several documentary
films and earned distinction of being
the first TV Producer in Africa to win
an International Emmy award for a TV
production. He joined politics in 2002
Raila Amollo Odinga
and has served the Government of
Party: Orange Democratic Movement
Kenya in various capacities since that
(ODM)
Mr. Raila Amollo Odinga is the son of time. He became the MP for Rarieda
the first Vice President of Kenya, the late Constituency from 2002 to 2007. During
this perion, Mr Tuju served as a minister
in three ministries - Information and
Communications, Tourism and Wildlife
and in Foreign Affairs. After losing
elections in 2008, he became an
Advisor in the Office of the President
from 2008 till 2011. He launched Party
of Action (POA).
Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka
Party: Wiper Democratic Party
Kalonzo was born in December
1953 in Tseikuru, Eastern Province.
He studied at Tseikuru Full Primary
School, Kitui High School and Meru
High. He gained a degree in Law
from the University of Nairobi in 1977
and postgraduate diploma in law
from Kenya School of Law in 1978.
He became the MP for Kitui North in
1985. He was the Assistant Minister for
Works, Housing and Physical planning
from 1986 to 1988. Between 1988 and
1992, he was the deputy speaker to
the National Assembly and served
until and was the National Organising
Secretary for KANU. Musyoka was
appointed as the minister for Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation.
He became the MP for Mwingi North
Constituency in 1997. He joined the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as a
founding member under the banner
of the National Rainbow Coalition
in 2001. He became the Minister
for Foreign Affairs for a second time
under until 2004 when he became the
Minister for the Environment. He took
part in the successful “No”-campaign
in the November 2005 referendum
on the proposed new constitution.
He was the presidential candidate
for ODM-Kenya in 2007. On January
8, 2008 he was appointed as Vice-
President and Minister of Home Affairs
and maintaining the seat even after the
formation of the Coalition cabinet.