Peninah Malonza is the current cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage. She took over from Najib Balala, who had helmed the docket for over a decade.
She is one of the only two ministers from Ukambani in the current administration.
Although she humbly attributes her achievements to the grace of God, Malonza’s journey has been nothing but remarkable.
From being the firstborn of a firstborn father of a firstborn grandfather to being the first girl from her village to join university, and then to become the first female deputy governor in the country, this is her journey as told by WoK:
Early life:
Malonza was born on March 7 1974 in Kitui county. She is the firstborn of 10 siblings.
She grew up in Kibwea village in Mutomo, next to Kitui South game reserve. For her primary education, she attended Itumba primary school between 1980 and 1987.
She then proceeded to Ikutha Girls Secondary School for her O level, which she completed in 1991.
The ambitious Malonza enrolled at the University of Nairobi to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology.
After graduating in 1994, she began her career.
She was employed by AMREF, an NGO, as a coordinator in a Kibera health-based program.
She was in charge of coordinating women empowerment activities and rehabilitating commercial sex workers.
After some time, Malonza, who is a fan of Reggae music, proceeded to Changamwe Baptist church in Mombasa as a project director.
In 2006, she enrolled with the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors, where she pursued a diploma in psychological counseling.
She then applied for a Master’s in project planning and management between 2006 and 2008 at UON.
Her unquenched desire for education prompted her to enroll for another Master’s in 2009, where she pursued Public Health at Nairobi University.
While working at the Changamwe Baptist Church, Malonza was employed by Compassion International Kenya as a program facilitator.
Within a year, she had risen to the position of senior facilitator. By the time she quit the organization after five years, she was the senior supervisor and had begun sitting in the country’s management team as an extended officer.
Politics
In 2013, Peninah Malonza made history as the first Kenyan female deputy governor. However, she soon fell out with her boss, former Kitui Governor Julius Malombe.
In 2017, while addressing Kitui residents at Kisayani market, Malonza threatened to walk naked in Kitui streets in protest of Governor Malombe, whom she accused of instigating hate against her.
The ghosts of her remarks would come to haunt her during vetting by the National, Assembly Committee on appointments. She defended herself by saying that her remarks were misunderstood.
After her fallout with the governor, Malonza was named by then Kitui Senator David Musila as his running mate in the 2017 elections while she was still Malombe’s deputy.
However, both Musila and Malombe failed in the elections.
In 2022, she vied for the women rep seat but lost.
Following her appointment as CS, the National Assembly Committee on appointments unanimously rejected her, citing that she did not understand basic issues concerning the Ministry of Tourism.
However, she escaped the rejection by a whisker when members of parliament overturned the ruling, claiming that Malonza was unfairly targeted during the vetting.
Net Worth
During her vetting, Peninah Malonza declared her net worth to be sh 300 million. It was comprised of sh 240 million worth of prime land in Mombasa, Kajiado, Kitui, and Nairobi.
She also has shares in three saccos, three vehicles worth ksh 10 million, and farm produce and livestock worth sh 20 million.
She also declared herself a single mother of one daughter and a widow.
