John Kaguchia, the MP with a curious take on health, environment

Mukurweini Member of Parliament John Kaguchia. [File, Standard] Mukurweini Member of Parliament John Kaguchia is a man already making waves with interesting takes on everyday issues, and remedies for them. Last month, the first-time Member of Parliament made news for his proposal that circumcision should be mandatory. "Over the years, we've had many deaths by our young boys because of going through traditional circumcision that sometimes goes bad. We are looking at circumcision not from a cultural perspective but more from a health perspective. So, my proposal is we make circumcision a matter of public health concern," argued Kaguchia. And earlier, in December 2023, he was again in the news for sponsoring a Bill that sought to punish answering a call of nature in public with Sh5,000 fine and other related misdemeanors. This zeal has earned him recognition. In a 2023 report by Infrotrak, Kaguchia was among the top ten most performing MPs. The report, being the first since the Kenya Kwanza government took over power, placed Kaguchia at the eighth position among all the MPs in the country and the fifth most performing Member of Parliament in the Central Region, with a rating of 60 per cent. How did he get here? Speaking to The Standard, the former Nyeri County Speaker says his, was nothing close to an overnight success or luck. According to him, the journey to where he is started in the 90s when he aspired to be a District Commissioner. The goal was to lead and represent people in government. However, with the change in government structures, the interest in becoming a DC was replaced by that of an MP. "Right from the word go, I had wanted to participate in governance. I had been putting and strategically organizing myself to that," says Kaguchia. "When I was in class three, a DC visited our school and came with a serious big motorcade and the whole school came to a stand-still. By the time I was going home in the evening, I knew what I wanted to be, a DC. That moved me and my performance and discipline also improved because I was working so hard and trying to live up to the standards of the DC in terms of discipline and how I carried myself. That was a game changer at a very young age." Born and raised in Mukurweini, the 41-year-old grew up in a simple family of six where both parents were farmers. Access to a good school, despite great performance, was never guaranteed as most families lived from hand to mouth. However, he was lucky as his community supported him in various ways including harambees, which sustained him at the Lenana School and later joined Kenyatta University for his undergraduate. It was during his time at KU that he tried campus politics and was elected as the school's president, a position he served for one and a half years. During that period Kaguchia says he learnt a lot about leadership and representing people from different backgrounds and tribes; an important aspect of politics. After four years on campus, Kaguchia worked for Equity Bank for a few months before securing a job at the Nairobi Water Company as a management trainee. During his time at the water company, the lawmaker pursued his Masters in Diplomacy and a Degree in Law at the University of Nairobi, consequently, growing through the ranks to serve in top positions before resigning to contest for the Nyeri Speaker's seat. "I had not eyed any opportunity in real politics until the position for the Speaker opened up. To be honest, I wasn't the candidate for the political class in Nyeri. But for me, I had done law and diplomacy and so I was able to go and sell myself to the MCAs and they almost unanimously voted me in. I got 35 votes, the other candidate got 8 and one was a spoilt vote," says Kaguchia. The first years were not easy. According to him, he found a divided Assembly, and some things had to be learnt on the job. However, just like any position he served before, he executed his role with grace and accomplished several things among them fostering a healthy relationship between the county assembly and the governor. "The first years of being a speaker were not easy. I was dealing with 44 MCAs who were divided. However, by the time we were in the second year, I was able to bring them together although some still maintained their different stands. Despite all the differences that come with politics, I felt like that was my job," he says. In his last round as a Speaker, it was clear he wanted to run for office. His dream? The National Assembly. He battled it out and won. Since then, the lawmaker has been seen not only proposing and supporting amendments in Parliament but also building his ground presence through projects like road infrastructure, electricity connectivity, and school feeding programs all across his Constituency. He is optimistic about what the future holds and is prepared to defend his position come 2027. John Kaguchia is married to his campus sweetheart Dr Susan Njoki and the two are blessed with three girls.

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