Miguna Miguna

Early life and career

Miguna was born in Magina village in 1963. Whilst serving as a student leader at the University of Nairobi, he was detained by the Moi regime for his political activism. Upon his release, he fled to neighbouring Tanzania on foot and briefly stayed in Swaziland. He was granted political asylum in Canada where he continued to pursue his higher education. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1990 and thereafter read law at Osgoode Hall Law School. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1995 and the Kenyan Bar in 2008.

He articled at Charles Roach's firm in Toronto before practising on his own until 2007 when he returned to his homeland.

Political career

Upon his return, he contested in the primaries of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)'s nomination for Nyando Constituency but lost to Frederick Outa Otieno. He was part of the ODM's campaign team during the 2007 general election. In March 2009, he was appointed as Prime Minister Raila Odinga's senior adviser on coalition affairs and concurrently served alongside Kivutha Kibwana as the Joint-secretary to the Permanent Committee on the Management of the Grand Coalition. In August 2011, he was accused of gross misconduct and was thereby suspended without pay. The suspension was lifted on 29 December but Miguna declined his reinstatement.

On 14 July 2012, he launched his first memoir titled Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya. The book was virulently critical of Raila Odinga and purported to his expose him as a charlatan . It sparked protests from Odinga's supporters in Ahero who burned Miguna's effigy and mock coffin; and thereafter sprinkling its ashes into River Nyando. He was attacked whilst promoting his book at a hotel in Mombasa and had to be rescued by the police.

In September 2012, he resigned from ODM as a life member and announced his candidacy for Governor of Nairobi County in the 2013 gubernatorial election as an independent candidate. He later on cancelled his candidacy. He launched his second memoir in February 2013 titled Kidneys for the King: Deforming the Status Quo in Kenya. which heaps even more scorn on Raila, cataloguing a series of misdeeds allegedly committed by Raila. Raila on his part has declined to answer to the claims made in Miguna's books or even to sue for defamation in the belief that this would deny the limelight Miguna is seeking. Raila is widely viewed in Kenya as a leading proponent of political reforms, an image which could be badly sullied if Miguna's claims as made in his books prove to be true. In an act of rejection of his former political boss, Miguna endorsed Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila's rival, in the 2013 presidential election Uhuru went on to win the poll albeit amid claims of poll fraud by Raila. In March 2016, Miguna declared that he would be vying for the position of Governor for Nairobi as an independent candidate. He unveiled his manifesto in August 2016. The manifesto promises visionary leadership based on integrity, clear policies, programs and a commitment for service delivery, job creation and infrastructure development. The 2017 elections are scheduled for August 8, 2017.

Controversies

In 2010, some members from the PNU side of the coalition accused him of holding both Canadian and Kenyan passports as the law didn't permit dual citizenship at the time. Miguna responded that he was a Kenyan citizen by birth and that he had never renounced his citizenship.

TV talk show spat

In November 2016,Miguna earned unflattering spotlight when in a KTN TV talk show hosted by Jeff Koinange, he made satirical remarks against Esther Passaris, a fellow guest appearing on the show, in response to false allegations that Ms. Passaris had made against him. The two who had declared interest in the Nairobi gubernatorial seat slated for the upcoming 2017 General Elections were on the show to debate and canvass votes from Nairobi voters. Miguna's remarks ignited uproar from a few viewers although in several polls conducted shortly thereafter, more than 65% of viewers supported him. Gender Cabinet Secretary and FIDA demanded for an apology from him but he dismissed them as people who had not understood the context of his utterances. Host Koinange was pilloried by a few anti-Miguna elements for failing to restrain Miguna as he went on the "attack" against Passaris. Koinange later apologized and announced the end of his popular show on KTN. However, Koinange's termination of the show seemed not to have been connected to the controversy since he invited and hosted the wife of the Nairobi Governor, Evans Kidero, the very next day following the show. Koinange had also subsequently invited both Miguna and Passaris to his new show on Citizen TV but Miguna declined stating that he did not want side shows. According to some observers, JKL terminated its contract with KTN because Miguna had referred to the retired President, Daniel arap Moi, as corrupt. At all material times, Moi owned The Standard Group Limited and KTN. In other words, whereas the KTN owners made it look like the termination of the show was linked to the heated exchanges between Miguna and Passaris, it was the criticism of Moi on his own TV station that had buried JKL. Miguna had also claimed that his privacy rights were violated by the station and Mr. Koinange since an altered and distorted video that had been secretly recorded during the commercial break of the JKL show was published and widely circulated while the verbatim record of the actual debate was pulled off and purged. Miguna filed a complaint against The Standard Group Limited, KTN and JKL with the Media Complaint Commission against The Standard Group Limited, KTN and JKL for the alleged violations. He argued that Passaris attended the show as a fellow contestant for public office and not as a woman. Consequently, he took issue with those criticising him for having successfully deconstructed his opponent with facts, reason and logic.

Personal life

He is a member of the Luo community. He is married and has children.

Works