Nyiva Mwendwa
Kenyan politician
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Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa is a Kenyan politician. She was the first Kenyan woman to serve as a cabinet minister.
Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Culture and Social Services | |
| Assumed office 9 May 1995 | |
| Constituency | Kitui West Constituency |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kitui District, Kenya |
| Party | KANU (1974, 1992), NARC (2002), ODM-Kenya (2007), WDM-K (2013) |
| Spouse | Kitili Maluki Mwendwa (d. 1985) |
| Children | Kavinya, Maluki |
| Alma mater | Alliance Girls High School |
| Profession | Politician, Educator |
Awards | Elder of the Golden Heart (EGH) |
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 incurred national disfavour in 1995 when she travelled to a women’s conference in Beijing in 1995 and took a hairdresser as part of her delegation. Mwendwa herself defended the decision, stating that, as 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)
