By Prudence Minayo
Anne Kananu Mwenda is the deputy governor of Nairobi who is set to take over the office of the governor. Speaker Benson Mutura has been in the governor’s office in an acting capacity. Before becoming the deputy governor, she led a quiet life which is going to change given her new powerful post and the opposition she will have to contend with from ex-Governor Mike Sonko and his supporters.
Anne was nominated the deputy governor last year but hit a stumbling block when the High Court delayed her vetting by the County Assembly pending the hearing and determination of the petition filed by Peter Odhiambo.
Peter insisted that Mike Sonko had violated court orders by making the nomination. This is because the Anti Corruption court magistrate Douglas Ogoti had barred Sonko from accessing office after being charged with graft. The petition was withdrawn and Anne became the first woman deputy governor of Nairobi county. She will hold the position until 2022 when the next general elections will be held.
Age
Anne Kananu is 41 years old. She was born in 1980 in Embu county.
Education
She attended St Michael Primary School in Embu county where she sat for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.
Kananu sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in 1999 at Our Lady of Mercy High School, Nagundu.
She has a Diploma in Criminology and Security management from St. Paul’s University obtained in 2013 and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminology and Security Management from Dedan Kimathi University.
According to an article by Citizen Digital, she undertook two certificate courses in Human Resource Management and Public Relations at the University of Nairobi between 2011 and 2012.
Anne is also trained in disaster management and security as well as active shooting and hostage training.
She has a certificate in crisis management from AVSEC, Female screening, Man Portable Air Defense System from the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Career
From 2002 to 2003, she worked in customer service and as a personal assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of Mokir Enterprises. Mokir Enterprises was a Safaricom consultancy firm in charge of dealing with customer service.
From 2003 to 2004, she worked as a personal assistant for H. Mogambi & CO. Advocates.
She had also served as a switchboard operator at the Kenya College of Communications Technology.
For 13 years, she worked as a security supervisor tasked with quality control and training at the Kenya Airports Authority.
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In May 2018, she became the Nairobi County Chief Officer for Disaster Management and Coordination. The disaster management sector was established in 2018 and is responsible for disaster risk and crisis management. It is under the office of the H. E . Governor. The sector carries out disaster risk reduction strategies, firefighting, rescue operation, free investigation and emergency ambulance services. The sector, which was previously headed by Kananu, has the following objectives:
- To focus on disaster risk reduction
- To enhance public safety and emergency response
- To enhance public awareness and disaster response
In November 2019, she was named acting chief of water.
On 6th January 2020, she was nominated as the Nairobi deputy governor by the impeached governor Mike Sonko, a position that had been vacant for about two years after Polycarp Igathe quit.
She pushed through all the hurdles, and on 15th January 2021 was appointed the Nairobi deputy governor.
Anne Kananu Mwenda was sworn in by justice John Mativo at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) .
The swearing in was a few hours after she appeared before the county vetting committee where she was cleared.
In her acceptance speech at KICC COMESA grounds, she promised to work with integrity and commitment and work together with Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) for the good of the county and also thanked president Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee Party for their faith in her. Anne also thanked the former Nairobi county governor Mike Mbuvi, alias Sonko, for showing confidence and nominating her as deputy governor.
“Together, we will work round the clock and go the extra mile to ensure that the aspirations of Nairobi people are not only met but exceeded in a bid to accelerate their socio-economic development. The public can now look forward to enhanced service delivery.
“I affirm my commitment to serve the people of Nairobi with utmost dedication, focus, discipline and integrity,” she said in part of her speech.
Personal Life
The deputy governor was married to the late Philip Njiru Muthathai. Philip died in a grisly road accident in Athi River in January 2019. Next
