By Prudence Minayo
Ndindi Nyoro is a Kenyan entrepreneur cum politician. He came from very humble beginnings as his parents were peasants who struggled to even pay school fees for him. Through sheer hard work, he joined Kenyatta University and where he was molded into an entrepreneur and later a principled politician.
Today, he is the Member of parliament for Kiharu constituency and a staunch supporter of Deputy President William Ruto and the Tangatanga movement. The MP has demonstrated his fearlessness through a number of vocal statements he has given ever since the 2017 general elections.
Age
Ndindi was born on 12th December 1985 in Gathukeini, Murang’a county.
Education
He attended Gathukeini Primary School and qualified to join Kiaguthu Boys but was unable to due to lack of school fees. Instead, he joined Kiambugi Boys as the principal was a family friend, therefore, allowing school fees to be paid in installments.
In order to assist in fee payment, he repaired shoes for his schoolmates and also burned charcoal during school holidays. Upon completing KCSE, he became the only student from the school to qualify to join university.
In 2005, he joined Kenyatta University where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. To get through school, he started a small hotel which failed. He became a stock broker after his business venture went south.
While at the University, he was elected the Academic Secretary making him a member of the Kenyatta University Students Association. He became the chairman of both Murang’a and Mount Kenya Students Association. In 2009, he graduated from the university.
Family
The firebrand politician came from a peasant family where he was born the last in a family of four. He lost his father at a young age and the family struggled to make ends meet.
He is married to Sophia Wambui.
Career
Before venturing into politics, Ndindi did a couple of businesses. He worked part time for Ngenye Kariuki and company stock brokers whose director was Ngenye Kariuki, former Member of Parliament for Kiharu.
Later, he formed Stockbridge Stockbrokers and started Afrisec Telecoms, an internet service provider. In 2016, he co-founded Investax capital, a stock brokerage firm and due to a conflict of interest left Stockbridge Securities. Investax is one of the leading stock broker agencies in the country.
Politics
The MP was introduced to politics while studying at Kenyatta University. During his tenure as a member of the Kenyatta University Students Association, he met a number of people who are also affiliated with politics, such as, senator Isaac Mwaura Maigua, speaker of Nyeri county Assembly John Kaguchia and Runyenjes MP Muchangi Karemba.
From 2013 to 2016, he worked as the chairperson of Kiharu Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
In the 2017 general elections, he vied for the Member of Parliament seat for Kiharu constituency under the Jubilee party ticket. He beat his opponents garnering 60,881 votes and became the Kiharu Member of Parliament at the age of 32.
Trivia
In 2017, he wrote a statement on Facebook urging President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare a state of emergency for six months and suspend the constitution if the Supreme Court of Kenya ruled in favor of a repeat presidential election.
In March 2019, he proposed a bill named Anti-corruption and Economics Crime Amendment Bill 2019. The bill was advocating for strict punishment to those found guilty of corruption in Kenya, including execution. It also proposed that all corruption cases be handled by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. This did not sit well with the ODM party leader Raila Odinga who said this was a move to disempower Directorate of Public Prosecution and Directorate of Criminal Investigation from dealing with cases of corruption.
Ndindi is also a member of the Tangatanga movement, a movement that supports the deputy president of Kenya William Ruto in his campaign to vie for presidency come 2022. In July 2019, through his Facebook page, he said there were plans to silence those allied to the DP and plans were underway to have him arrested. The Kiharu MP also added that he refused to be frightened as he had lived in worse conditions compared to prison cells.
In September 2019, he clashed with nominated MP Maina Kamanda during a fund raising ceremony in Gitui Catholic Church. In an interview with Hussein Mohammed on Citizen TV, he said it was his right as the area MP to preside over the fundraising ceremony. After the incident, police wanted to arrest him but he was shielded by his supporters and managed to also evade the police a few times until 50 officers from the General Service Unit (GSU) were sent to arrest him. He was charged with assaulting police officers, causing disturbance during a church service and resisting arrest during the fundraiser. Members of his constituents stormed the streets at night protesting his arrest and demanding his release. At midnight, he was released from police custody and all the charges were dropped the next day.
Speaking to The Nation after his arrest, he said he was speaking for the people and not according to any political script.
‘ I am elected by the people and it is them I listen to. They should not be bulldozed to follow a certain direction to please a few rich people. They must never lie to themselves that they can buy off the souls and hearts of the poor people with their money and it’s time for the poor to know that money the rich people have belongs to them and their family,’ he told The Nation.
In October 2020, chaos ensued in Murang’a ahead of DP William Ruto’s visit to the county. The chaos led to the death of two people while several were injured. Police spokesman Charles Owino said Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai had ordered the arrest of MPs Alice Wahome and Ndindi Nyoro for planning the violence.
The legislator has been categorical that he won’t present himself to police over the deaths in Kenol. Sharing his side of the story on Citizen TV morning show, the legislator said of the summons issued by DCI.
“Let me put it on the record. I am not surrendering to any police. I will not be used by murderers to cleanse their mess….. They have the system they can track my phone, they know all my where bouts every day…..”
He went on to maintain his innocence saying that it was the government that had sponsored the youths to disrupt the church fundraising that was presided by the DP:
“They know that I was not involved in their mess, If you want to arrest me, I am here at home come and arrest me but will not be part of that narrative”.
Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Vote
It was expected that the BBI would face a stiff opposition in the National Assembly from the ‘tanga tanga’ wing but that was not to be as 235 legislators voted yes against 83 who voted no on the second reading. 224 lawmakers went on to vote for the bill against 63 who opposed on the third reading. Nyoro castigated the legislators who voted for BBI saying they were led by their stomachs.
Airing his views in parliament, the fiery MP said:
“…..Mr Speaker, others voted on the basis of intimidation………….Mr Speaker, the people I referred to as cowards and traitors and sellouts are the people who departed from their conscious that day and voted through their stomach and also those who voted at the direction of their party leaders, Mr Speaker, and the others who bought fear…..
