Meet the Tigania firebrand chosen to defend devolution

His plunge into politics in 2002 wasn’t rosy. He gave his all in the nomination race for the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (Narc) party ticket for the Tigania East parliamentary seat, but posted a victory that never was.

He was denied a certificate to become the flag bearer of the popular coalition party that went on to end Kanu’s 24-years in power.

The betrayal by political schemers and rivals did not end Peter Munya’s dream and he sought a ticket of a less popular Safina party, eventually bagging the seat at the general elections that year.

The baptism of fire helped redefine Munya’s style of approach in order to stay afloat in the murky field public representation.

In addition to his straight talking, he became more abrasive – traits that won the hearts of many Tigania East constituents whom he went on to serve for 10 years, establishing himself as one of the most vocal legislators in the region.

Pundits believe it is Mr Munya’s “rebellious streak” that won him the powerful position as chairman of the Council of Governors (CoG) during the elections in Nairobi last week.

But he is quick to demystify that notion saying he was elected purely on merit because of his championing for devolution.

In an interview with the Weekender, Mr Munya said he has branded as a rebellion, a move he believes is targeted at driving a wedge between him and his people.

The county boss says many Kenyans suffered under the previous regimes as most of the government services and resources were “over centralised” in Nairobi.

Mr Munya attributed the 2007/8 post election violence (PEV) to the inequalities brought about by the previous regimes.

“Anyone who is well versed with the history of this country knows that we suffered under the old regime that centralised powers and resources. It was a one-man-show and the centralised system was ill-prepared to develop all parts of the country. There was little or no development at all. PEV was a culmination of that,” he said.

The governor who holds matters devolution dear to his heart said the new dispensation has helped many Kenyans.

He believes for devolution to succeed, there has to be goodwill from both the national and county governments.

“There has been a lot of hostility from the national government but change cannot always be dramatic. We are not enemies of the national government but sometimes they make it difficult to engage because of they are not ready to concede issues,” he said.

Among his first priorities, he says, is to ensure devolution fully works for the benefit of all Kenyans. During his tenure, he said, all functions listed in Schedule Four of the Constitution must be devolved.

“Counties have been painted in bad light with allegations that they can’t handle functions like health. But the problem has been the national government which has not yet released all the funds and resources meant to be handled by the counties.

“It has been the case of giving a dog a bad name and then slaying it,” he said.

He says his work as the CoG chairman is cut out and that the other important issue is to ensure there is a public discourse to educate Kenyans on devolution.

He describes Kenyans as the “long-term defenders” of devolution and hence the need to educate them on devolution.

“We will be working with development partners to educate Kenyans on the new dispensation. An educated public is a bulwark against any attempts to recentralise functions and resources, taking us back to the old system,” he said.

Writing prowess

Mr Munya is a graduate of the Kenya School of Law and is acclaimed for his law writing prowess during his studies in the United States and work at Moi University as a lecturer. Upon graduation, he took internship at Kamau Kuria and Kiraitu Advocates in Nairobi.

He also taught law at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) and the Kenya School of Professional Studies (KSPS) having improved his research skills at the University of Georgia in 1997 where he worked as a research assistant.

At his Muthara home, he has established a niche as one of the most learned sons of Tigania East.

Mr Munya and his wife, Phoebe, have two children.

After governors launched their Pesa Mashinani referendum campaign, Mr Munya was elected as the chairman of the steering committee to spearhead the push for more funds for counties.

He was also the council’s legal committee chairman, permanently putting him in the limelight because of the instructive and high profile roles he played.

In the ninth Parliament, he founded and chaired the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association and in 2006, was appointed as the assistant minister in the Ministry of Internal Security and Provincial Administration.

In the 2007 general elections, the abrasive Meru head had a clean sweep and defended his parliamentary seat and in April 2008 he was appointed assistant minister in the Ministry of East African Community, a development that propelled him to national fame.

During his tenure as an MP, he won accolades for improving education standards in Tigania East constituency.

Fast forward to 2012, he would later return to test his popularity when he vied for governorship and passed the gruelling test, garnering 184,273 votes to become the first governor of Meru.

The battle was between technocrats the late Reuben Marambii, a seasoned banker, university don Hezekiah Gichunge and a green-horn in politics, Jasto Maore and politicians Dr Kilemi Mwiria and Mr Munya.

During the campaigns, party intrigues marred the Meru politics with candidates torn between The National Alliance (TNA) and the Alliance Party of Kenya. Although the two parties had a love-hate relationship, Mr Munya settled on the latter.

All the contestants came from the Igembe and Tigania side of the vast county which is generally referred to as the Nyambene region.

Voters evaluated the candidates based on their individual capabilities rather on political party basis. The numbers factor between the Imenti, Tigania and Igembe sub-tribes was also at play during the elections.

Disparities in economic developments allocation and plum government positions were also factors at play in the Meru politics. Since independence, the Imenti’s have had better infrastructure and more leading politicians than Tigania and Igembe.

It is for this reason that political pundits felt that Munya, a Tigania, was best fit to be the county’s chief executive.

But perhaps it is Munya’s association with Meru’s arguably senior most politician Kiraitu Murungi that brought the former Chogoria Boys High School and Meru School alumnus to his meteoric rise in politics.