By Prudence Minayo
Mukhisa Kituyi is a Kenyan politician. He has worked in various capacities both in and out of the country. He was first elected to parliament through the Ford Kenya party and was re-elected two more times before being trounced by new entrant David Simiyu Eseli in the 2007 general elections.
Dr. Kituyi went on to become the secretary general for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Mukhisa resigned from his powerful position inorder to prep himself for the 2022 general elections.
Age
He was born in 1956 in Bungoma, Western Kenya to Jamin Kituyi and Joinah Mukasa Kituyi.
Education
He went to primary school at Mbakalo in Bungoma before proceeding to Bokoli Secondary School for his Ordinary Level Certificate of Education examinations. Later, he joined St Mary’s Yala for his Advanced Level Certificate of Education.
Dr. Kituyi studied political science and international relations at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. He received his BA in political science in 1982 and went on to join the University of Bergen, Norway. It was at this University that he got a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies , a Diploma in Science, Comparative Productions and a PHD in Social Anthropology.
Career
Before joining parliament, he worked as director at the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), Nairobi. He also worked as a program officer at the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), which is also located in Nairobi. He then worked as a researcher, the Christian Michelsens Institute, Norway for two years , and was majorly concentrated on coherence between different Nordic Development and programs in the key partner countries in Africa.
In 1992, he was elected to Parliament under the Ford Kenya party ticket, becoming the opposition chief whip. He was re-elected to parliament in 1997 and 2002. In 2007, he last the seat to David Simiyu Eseli.
From 2002 to 2007, he served as Minister of Trade. For two years during this time, he chaired the council ministers for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the African Trade Minister’s Council.
From 2008 to 2012, he was a member of a team of experts advising of the nation’s of the East African Community on how to establish more effective regional links.
From 2011 to 2012, he was a consultant for the African Union Commission. In this position, he helped to develop the structure for a pan African free trade area.
Before becoming Secretary general, he was chief executive of the Kenya Institute of Government based in Nairobi. The institute is a think tank and advocacy organization that focused on linking academic research and development of public policy.
In 2012, he served as a non-resident fellow of the Africa Growth Initiative of the Brookings Institution , Washington DC. He was a resident scholar there in 2011.
On 1st September 2013, he became UNCTAD’s seventh Secretary general. After serving an initial four year term, he was reappointed for an additional term that began in September 2017.
Marriage
The former minister of trade is married to Ling Kituyi and they have four children. The children are: Ivar Makari, Sitati Kituyi, Laila Kituyi and Thor Masalule Kituyi. Unfortunately, Ivar passed away on 28th June 2015, at the age of 30, after a diabetic attack. He was buried at his father’s Mbakalo Tongaren constituency home.
Extramarital Affairs
It is common-but not a justification-that men are not always satisfied with one woman. This seems to be the case with Mukhisa who is accused of assaulting his girlfriend after she rejected his sexual advances. According to Diana Opemi Lutta, the two were booked in a five star hotel in Mombasa when the incident happened. She filed a report at the Nyali police station and the matter is said to have been settled. The report under OB Number 10/22/05/2021 reads:
“Assault report to the station by one Diana Opemi Lutta (who) has submitted a report today the 22nd day of May 2021, at around 0200 hours. She has been assaulted by a person known to her within Tamarind Village, namely Mukhisa Kituyi whom she claims to be her boyfriend.”
Police further advised her to seek medical attention after being issued with a P3 form:
“Police advised her to seek medical attention for further police action after she was issued with a P3 form which was later filled at the Coast General Hospital..”
The former UNCTAD secretary general rubbished the claims saying he had never hit a woman in his life. He told the People Daily via text message:
“Someone had written a report claiming l had assaulted her but it was not true, I’ve never beaten any woman in my life nor do I intend to ever do it at any given time. We sorted out the case and it was withdrawn..”
