John Michuki
| John Njoroge Michuki | |
|---|---|
|
In office 9 January 2008 – 21 February 2012 |
|
| President | Mwai Kibaki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 December 1932 Muguru Village, Murang'a |
| Died | 21 February 2012 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Political party | Party of National Unity |
| Spouse(s) | Josephine Watiri Michuki, |
| Alma mater | Worcester College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Cabinet | Minister of Environment |
| Religion | Christian |
John Njoroge Michuki (1 December 1932 – 21 February 2012) was a Kenyan politician and businessman. He was born at Muguru village, Iyego Location, Kangema Division in Murang’a District. He was educated in Kenya and abroad. Michuki emerged as one of the prominent and long-serving civil servants and politicians as well as a businessman in Kenya. Michuki served Kenya in various capacities, including Permanent Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Chairman of the Kenya Commercial Bank, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister. He was serving his 4th five-year term as a Member of Parliament for Kangema Constituency. Michuki had a reputation as a "ruthless" and efficient manager, and was widely acknowledged as among the best performing ministers in President Kibaki's Government. He was serving as the Minister for Environment and National Resources at the time of his death.
Michuki was born in December 1932 at Muguru village, Iyego Location, Kangema Division in modern-day Murang’a County. He was born to a large polygamous family of Chief Michuki wa Kagwi who had 47 wives. Michuki was the first-born son of Mariana Wanjiku, the 45th wife of Chief Michuki Kagwi.
Despite his chiefly parentage, Michuki did not enjoy the privileges of life in his early upbringing. This was largely because his father died on 4 January 1940 when young Michuki was just seven years old. He suffered the fate of large polygamous families, where sons of older wives tend to disinherit those of younger wives. As such, Michuki’s mother secured only 3 acres from the large Michuki estate.
In many respects, Michuki’s early life was similar to that of many post-colonial African elite who rose to prominence aided by a combination of the social capital and ties of extended family, networks of friends, sheer ingenuity and hard work.
Although he was a self made man, Michuki attributed his success to his disciplinarian father and a visionary and loving mother Mariana Wanjiku who, despite being illiterate, was keen on giving him education.
Michuki’s mother enrolled him at Muguru primary School in 1941, a year after his father’s demise. In 1943 young Michuki dropped out of school a result of financial problems to cater for his fees. He travelled to Nairobi where he worked briefly in tailoring-related works where he fixed buttons and made button holes for the uniforms of the Pioneer Corp Unit, during the Second World War. By the time the war ended, Michuki had relocated to Nyeri where he worked in the same job near the old police station, earning 1 Kenya shilling per day. While in Nairobi, he also cooked for the close and distant relatives quarantined by the colonial government as a result suffering from a smallpox epidemic. While here, Michuki enrolled at Kiangunyi Primary School where he sat for and passed his Kenya African Primary Education (KAPE) in 1945.
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