Mutahi Kagwe
| DATE OF BIRTH | N/A |
| GENDER | Male |
| OCCUPATION | Former Cabinet Secretary, Health |
Biography
Mutahi Kagwe is the former Cabinet Secretary for Health. He served as CS when the country was facing the COVID-19 pandemic. He played a key role in giving regular updates and spearheading Kenya’s COVID-19 response mechanisms which earned him a moniker ‘waziri wa Korona’.
Mutahi’s political career goes a long way back.
Early life and Education
Mutahi Kagwe was born and raised in Mukurweini, Nyeri County. He attended Kihate Primary School before joining Kagumo High School for his O levels.
He then proceeded to university, where he joined the University of Nairobi in 1978. Here, he pursued a bachelor’s degree in insurance law and graduated in the year 1981.
Later on, he pursued a master’s in business administration at the United States International University-Africa (USIU). This was between 2002 and 2007.
Career
Before venturing into politics, Mutahi worked at the Standard Group in the advertising department. He served in the position of commercial director in the period between 1987 and 1989.
Kagwe’s political career took off in 2002 when he became the Member of Parliament for Mukurweini Constituency under the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (Narc) party ticket.
During this period, he served as the Chair of the Finance, Trade, Tourism and Planning Committee.
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In 2005, he was appointed as a Cabinet Minister for Information Communication and Technology (ICT) by former President Mwai Kibaki. During his tenure in this ministry, Kenya made a significant milestone in technology, moving from satellite technology to Fibre Optic Cables and the launch of Safaricom’s mobile transfer system, M-Pesa.
In 2007, Kagwe vied for MP in Mukwereini for a second time but was unsuccessful. After being beaten by Kabando Wa Kabando, he retreated to a private life until 2013.
Kagwe made a political comeback in 2013 when he was elected the first Senator for Nyeri County. During his tenure, he chaired the Senate Committee on Information and Technology, and was a member of the Committee of
Finance and Budget, and the Liaison Committee.
He took a shot at the Nyeri gubernatorial seat in 2017 but lost to the late Wahome Gakuru. He retreated to a private life once again until his appointment to the board of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), in October 2019.
He continued to serve at the board until February 2020, when former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him the Cabinet Secretary for Health.
His tenure as CS for health is uniquely marked by the arrival of COVID 19 pandemic in Kenya. The pandemic that saw more than 5,000 people lose their lives, set foot into the country a month into his appointment.
During this period, he spearheaded Kenya’s COVID-19 response mechanisms and gave regular updates on infections, fatalities and new updates regarding the virus.
Mutahi has since retreated to a private life and running his private business.
Family
The former CS is married to the former Minister for Environment the Late John Michuki’s daughter Anne Wanjiku Mutahi. They have four children and among them is the Kenyan rapper, Kahu Mburu otherwise known as Kahush.
Net Worth
During his vetting for the position of CS for Health, Mutahi tabled information on his wealth before parliament which stood at Ksh667.8 million.
At the time, he revealed that he owns two companies; a public relations firm, Tell-Em that made Ksh2.87 million and a research agency TNS RMS East Africa that generated Sh2.625 million. This was in February 2020.
