Kivutha Kibwana announces retirement from elective politics

Former Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana has announced his retirement from elective politics.

Prof. Kibwana, who served as the Member of Parliament for Makueni Constituency between 2000 and 2007 and Governor from 2017-2022 thanked the people of Makueni for giving him the opportunity to serve them.

“Today I announced that I have quit elective politics after serving the people of Makueni Constituency (2002-2007) & Makueni County (2013-2022), and 30 years of other public service,” said the former governor in a social media post on Saturday.

“Thanks be to God, my former students, co-workers, and those I served.”

After exhausting his two terms at the helm of Makueni County, Kibwana unsuccessfully contested for the senatorial seat in the August General Election, losing to Dan Maanzo.

Maanzo, a vocal critic of Prof. Kibwana, was endorsed by the former senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr who was then elected governor. 

Kibwana holds a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Nairobi and two Master of Laws degrees from the University of London and Harvard University.

He got his doctorate degree from George Washington University in 1988.

In his public service career before being the Makueni MP in 2002, the lawyer served as the spokesperson of National Convention Executive Council (NCEC) from 1997 to 2002.

He was also Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi between 1977 and 2002, Dean of the Faculty of Law, a senior lecturer and chairman of the Department of private law at the institution.

As an MP, Kibwana was also Minister of Land and Settlements and Environment and Natural Resources.

In January 2008, he was appointed by the late President Mwai Kibaki as Advisor for Constitutional, Parliamentary, and Youth Affairs in the President's Office, where he served until September 2012.

Kibwana had initially expressed interest in the presidential seat in the August polls but later withdrew his bid and backed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Two weeks after the elections which saw Mr Odinga lose to William Ruto, Kibwana decamped to President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza camp.