Behold JP Mwirigi, the ‘pauper’ member of parliament for Igembe

Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi August 28, 2017. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • “JP”, as I predict everybody will be calling Mwirigi, hit the headlines in a big way last week when he attended the induction ceremonies for new MPs. 

  • He also had in his pocket an invitation to the Wednesday Jubilee Party parliamentary group meeting at State House.

It was one of those uplifting stories you rarely hear about our politicians. It was about the new Igembe South MP, John Paul Mwirigi. He is all of 23 years old.

To the best of my knowledge, he must be the youngest MP ever to be voted to the Kenyan Parliament. He was elected straight from university.

Interestingly, he shares freshman status with my friend, lawyer and MP for Kangema, Muturi Kigano who, at 71 years, the media is gleefully telling us is the oldest member in the 12th National Assembly.

“JP”, as I predict everybody will be calling Mwirigi, hit the headlines in a big way last week when he attended the induction ceremonies for new MPs.

He also had in his pocket an invitation to the Wednesday Jubilee Party parliamentary group meeting at State House.

Notwithstanding that the young man was elected as an independent candidate, his invitation to the Jubilee PG meeting shows the party is leaving nothing to chance in embracing nominal independents allied to it.

NEVER OWNED A CAR

Journalists did not miss the fact that Mwirigi does not and has never owned a car. On the day ahead of the induction, he took an early matatu from Meru and disembarked several hours later at Nairobi’s River Road. None of his fellow passengers recognised him.

He then walked to Parliament Buildings where the induction was taking place and identified himself as an elected MP to startled orderlies.

After the ceremonies, he spent the night at his sister’s place in the city.

The following day a colleague of his, Tharaka MP George Murugara, helped out by giving him a lift in his car to State House.

After the PG meeting, according to the young fellow, he chose not to bother anybody in hiking a lift. He decided to walk back to town.

UNFAMILIAR SIGHT

Yes, on foot. It must have been an unfamiliar sight for the red bereted State House guards as they watched the young MP walk out of the compound’s gates.

Mwirigi’s dramatic simplicity was everywhere being contrasted with the conduct of two gluttonous prima donnas – Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni wa Muchomba and her Homa Bay counterpart Gladys Wanga – who had earlier made arrogant remarks against a Salaries and Remuneration Commission decision to streamline MPs’ grotesque pay.

Of course, nothing is to stop him going for the MPs’ customary opulence once his salary and allowances start to kick in.

But for now, he was the darling of everybody. Bigwigs like National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi were falling over themselves to praise Mwirigi over his stunning achievement of winning at such a tender age. “I feel so proud of him,” gushed the Speaker.

EMBARRASSMENT

Still, you cannot miss a hint of embarrassment from Mwirigi’s parliamentary colleagues at his “lowly” status and how it projects on the overall image of MPs.

Some of them are even promising to raise money to buy him a car as he awaits the processing of his parliamentary car loan.

Which brings me to my last point. It is nice to be simple, and you earn enormous popularity for that.

But it’s another thing to make a fetish of poor living as the primary qualification for leadership. Mwirigi must prove himself as a true leader in the many spheres of his work as an MP.

And he is by no means the first to deliberately pauperise his status as an elected leader.

FAMOUS

Perhaps the most famous such leader was former president of Uruguay Jose Mujica, whose shunning of the trappings of big office earned him the moniker of “the world’s poorest president.” (He drove himself around in a Volkwagen).

There was also Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice-president, who declined to live in his official residence and preferred to daily commute to Washington DC by train, as he had done for many years before as a senator, from his humble home in Delaware state.

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Aha, the Supreme Court has ruled. I hope the silly talk of secession has been temporarily stilled. Expect a crazy turnout in the repeat election.

 Warigi is a socio-political commentator [email protected]