Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa is a Kenyan politician. She was the first Kenyan woman to serve as a cabinet minister.
Early life and education
She was educated at Alliance Girls High School, [1] and was one of the first ethnic African teachers to be posted to The Kenya High School in the mid-1960s, teaching Domestic Science. She was elected for the post of Kitui West Constituency MP three times, in 1974 and 1992 representing KANU and in 2002 representing NARC. [2] At the 2007 elections she contested the seat on the ODM-Kenya ticket, but lost to Charles Mutisya Nyamai. [3] She was elected the first Kitui County woman representative in the 2013 Kitui local elections on a Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya (WDM-K) ticket. [4] In 2016, she announced her intention to retire from active politics 40 years since her debut. [5]
Political life
Mwendwa was appointed the Minister for Culture and Social Services on May 9, 1995, becoming the first female minister in Kenya. [6]
She caused a national disfavour in 1995 when she travelled to women’s conference in Beijing in 1995 and took a hairdresser as a part of her delegation. Mwendwa herself defended the decision by stating that being a delegation leader, she must take care of her appearance. [7]
Her husband Kitili Maluki Mwendwa was Kenyan chief justice and politician. Kitili Mwendwa died in a traffic accident in 1985. He was at the time the Kitui West MP, his seat was taken at the subsequent by-election by his brother Kyale Mwendwa. His other brother, Eliud Ngala Mwendwa is also a former Kenyan minister. [8]
She lives in Matinyani village in Kitui District. Nyiva Mwendwa has two children, Kavinya and Maluki. [7]
Awards
She was awarded with The Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, [9] 2nd Class, Elder of the Golden Heart (EGH)
References
- ^ "Alliance Girls High School: Historical Perspectives". Alliancegirlshigh.com. 1948-02-28. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ Center for Multiparty Democracy: Politics and Parliamentarians in Kenya 1944–2007 Archived 2008-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Parliamentary election results 2007 - Kitui West". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Woman of firsts and style". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Mutua, Paul. "Kitui Woman Rep Nyiva Mwendwa retires from politics". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ The Power of the Media - A Handbook for Peacebuilders: Kenya - Gender and Conflict Media Projects Edited by Ross Howard, Francis Rolt, Hans van de Veen and Juliette Verhoeven
- ^ a b The Standard, October 23, 2008: Nyiva Mwendwa: Never give in to despair
- ^ David Throup & Charles Hornsby: Multi-party Politics in Kenya James Currey Publishers, 1998 ISBN 0-85255-804-X
- ^ genderadmin. "Hon. Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa EGH". State Department for Gender. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
- Living people
- Kenya African National Union politicians
- National Rainbow Coalition politicians
- Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya politicians
- Members of the National Assembly (Kenya)
- Government ministers of Kenya
- Women government ministers of Kenya
- Alumni of Alliance Girls High School
- Kamba people
- People from Kitui County
- 20th-century Kenyan women politicians
- 20th-century Kenyan politicians
- 21st-century Kenyan women politicians
- 21st-century Kenyan politicians