Mercy Wanjau is chilling with the big boys. “And girls,” she quips. As the Secretary to the Cabinet, her office is designed “to identify and progress government business and priorities of the administration.”
But with the camaraderie and grandeur of public office, Ms Wanjau understands the precariousness of power: fortune and misfortune are separated by a mere step.
If she had it her way, she would not have been a lawyer.
As a child in Nanyuki, she dreamed of becoming an air hostess. But over two decades, she has cemented her professional trajectory in law and governance. She has worked as a commercial lawyer and Acting Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya.
An Eisenhower Fellow and alumna of the University of Nairobi (LLB Hons), University of Cape Town (LLM), and Strathmore Business School, Ms Wanjau has chaired pivotal initiatives including the Taskforce for the Development of a Data Protection and Privacy Framework for Kenya, the ITU’s Global Symposium of Regulators (2021), and the Covid ICT Sector Advisory Committee (2020).
She has contributed to publications by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In her office at State House, adorned with the red splendour of government aesthetics, she emphasises professionalism over politics.
“Maybe occupying a public role is overrated at times,” she says, dismissing the allure of political theatrics in favour of managing the politics of public service.
Mercy Wanjau’s life in and beyond the Cabinet
Did it ever occur to you that you’d end up here, chilling with the ‘big boys’ so to speak?
And the big girls too [chuckles]. It is an opportunity and a privilege to serve in this season. I believe this is the time to give my best contribution.
Looking back, were there moments in your career that set you up for this?
Absolutely. My training as a lawyer and my career in the technology space have been instrumental. This position found me like a fish in water. Kenya’s ICT achievements have garnered admiration globally. It’s exciting to contribute to these successes.
You are at the top of the proverbial ladder. Where does one go from here?
You tell me, haha! This is a critical office in any country as it ties up critical parts to get government business moving. Public participation, litigation, and occasional headwinds from dissatisfied parties can slow progress, but the impact of mature proposals is incredible. That’s what keeps me motivated.
Were you born a leader or were you made one?
It’s a mix of both; I believe in nurture and nature. Being the firstborn, I was a like a prefect because of responsibilities entrusted to me. But more than that, I have been fortunate to find myself in spaces that allowed me to utilise my skills and the possibility to make inputs here and there.
Secretary To The Cabinet Mrs Mercy Wanjau gestures during the interview at State House on December 03, 2024.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Have you always been this driven, or were there circumstances that spurred you?
Maybe my siblings have a better account. They have called me “commander” since childhood [chuckles]. I am naturally a competitive person and results driven, but I also value open-mindedness. Perhaps that’s why I favour pencils—you can write, erase and reimagine.
Has there been a moment where you erased and reimagined your path?
Certainly! Earlier in my career, I was involved in charting of evolution path of Kenya's technology sector and experienced failures that seemed very bad. Looking back, they helped the teams I was working with to come back better because of the lessons we learned. I learned that it is important to give yourself grace and space to fail. From failure, lessons will emerge to catapult you.
Do you have a ‘special failure’ that set you up for later success?
I was in the first 8-4-4 lot transitioning from high school to university. During the transition, I was placed in a course I didn’t choose. I was keen to pursue law but the university had me under BA in Linguistics, Sociology and Literature.
It was frustrating pursuing the university administration, especially the registrar to change my course, but I persisted until I was moved to the faculty of law. That taught me resilience and the value of allies.
What misconception did you have when you got into this big office?
I assumed this would require a politician, not a professional. But this is a business partnership office, driven by corporate dynamics inside the complex business-government relationship.
What was your dream growing up in Nanyuki?
I wanted to be an air hostess. Later, law found me.
What kind of a child were you?
Very adventurous. We could see Mt Kenya from our house, but today the snowcapped mountain peak is much diminished. Back then, the river that flows near our home was raging, we couldn't approach it—today we can see the river bed. Nature was, and remains, a grounding force for me.
Did you ever climb the mountain?
I’ve attempted it. My daughter, at 16, made it to the summit with my husband. I’m their virtual cheerleader [chuckles].
Your office is demanding. How do you balance work and family?
Balance is a myth. It is impossible to strike a perfect one. It’s about ebb and flow and seeking support.
When I interview female CEOs whose husbands are not in the limelight, I get a sense of cautiousness. Are there times you feel like you have to shed off parts of yourself?
Public roles come with trade-offs. It’s vital to be present in the moment, both at work and at home. Harmony, not tension, defines these spaces for me.
Motherhood should be enjoyed as much as possible. As I was growing my career, sometimes the two would compete. Motherhood comes in stages that cannot be revisited.
Life is abundant and it offers many other spaces that you can then go back to when the circumstances permit, for motherhood you need to be present.
You work with professionals but this is also a political space. Has politics changed you?
I believe it has because working in a political business comes with more layers of interest and considerations—it is a promise being given to Kenyans. It has made me contemplative; things are not always black and white.
How is this playing out in your personal life?
It has made me quite open-minded; that I may come up with my prejudice based on my own life experiences, and to realise that is not always the case.
Success comes at a cost, what is the price of your ambition?
I don’t subscribe to that theory because the connotation is that the cost is negative. Time is a factor in success. Sometimes it may take longer, but always look out for the ebb you can ride on to recalibrate. Is it possible to have your cake and eat it? Or to have it all?
That was my next question…
Haha! It is possible to have it all but not at the same time. That is the theory I subscribe to. I don’t believe that the world is harsh, that you can only either have this or this. There is sequencing and timing.
From outside looking in, we see the big cars, the big office, the protocol…
I think it is because you have not seen me in Karura [Forest], walking and trekking and puffing and huffing.
Oh really, when do you go?
I try and go as much as I can. I am looking forward to going every day, just to walk, not running, haha!
You go alone?
I like walking with my family. It is different when you go in the morning versus in the evening.
How do you take care of yourself?
Nature is always the first choice. I derive a lot of perspectives, lessons, and grounding from it. I also swim, and in fact I was a competitive swimmer as a child…believe it or not. I am also an artist so I paint. Few things are as fulfilling like painting on canvas.
What do you struggle with?
Patience. I am not as patient as I would like to be and that can put pressure on myself and around the people around me.
I’m 35 in my mind, haha! There was no clear picture, but I’ve been fortunate to have had many role models, exposure, and experiences that have given me confidence and belief that it is important to try. It is at that hour when it looks impossible that you achieve.
What opportunity slipped from your fingers that you keep thinking about?
I don’t believe in regrets but stepping up and moving on and catching the lesson to feed the journey of life.
What has been your biggest loss?
The death of my parents but at different times. I had good parents. My dad died about nine years back, and my mom passed on this year.
What was her reaction when you got appointed?
Oh! She used to put pressure on me, 'why are you not at work', haha! She recognised the impact and implications if I started falling off in terms of performance. She would watch the news to find out what things meant—she was very engaged.
Was she a high achiever like yourself?
Yes, initially she was a teacher and then went into the family business.
Who are you more like—your mom or dad?
I am a fair mix. My dad was calmer, firm, and driven. My mom was the disciplinarian, and very driven. Whenever my impatience rears its head I reminds me I am my mother's daughter.
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
My parents but also my maternal grandmother. She was the only grandparent I had because my father's parents died a long time ago, and my maternal grandfather died in World War II. My maternal grandmother was a contemporary thinker.
As a teenager when we were left home as everybody in the neighbourhood went to the movies, my grandmother would soften my mother's stance. 'Let your children go and enjoy like others', she'd say. She was a fresh thinker, even in her old age. She is still alive, about 115 years old now. She has great, great grandchildren.
What is the one question you are asking yourself now?
In my old age, what kind of Kenya do I want to live in and what contribution can I then make? We are in a space that holds a lot of possibilities for change. There are many emerging issues, so the call is for us to leverage these possibilities.
What a quote governs your life?
Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.
“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Is there a question I should have asked that I haven’t?
I thought you’d ask about my hobbies but I realise now it came through earlier. I think I have always been a reflective person, reading and painting. I like storytelling and when I am engaged in such spaces, I will forget the lesson but I will remember the story and learn from its reverse.
I think this is a skill that is part of our African heritage that we so much underutilise because we have turned so much to the West. We need to recapture the art of storytelling as a means of passing wisdom and experiences.
