Joel Munuve: A champion of good governance, leadership and accountability

Elected as the only independent candidate among the 123 Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in Nairobi County in the 2022 General Election, the late Joel Munuve, Kariobangi North MCA, rose to be a fierce legislator who kept Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on his toes through his oversight.

The Vocal lawmaker was among a countable few MCAs who stood and called out injustice, discrimination in terms of development, corruption, and other illegalities allegedly committed by the Sakaja-led administration.

Munuve seized the rare advantage of being elected independently to keep County Executive in check as he maintained that he was doing it for the people of Kariobangi North.

“I ask questions because I represent the people of Kariobangi North. I was elected as an independent candidate, unlike many of my colleagues,” Munuve previously told The Informer Media Group.

From tabling motions to requests for statements from various committees and an impeachment bid in 2023, the Kariobangi North legislator was an active leader on the floor of the Assembly and in his backyard.

The MCA on several occasions clashed with his Azimio and Kenya Kwanza colleagues for his firm stand and instances where public resources  were suspected to have been misused.

He is among the few legislators whose stand could not be swayed.

As he previously told The Informer Media Group, Munuve said his fight for good governance and against corruption is for his people, and he would do that till his death.

At some point after he indicated that he had received threats from the executive wing of the County, he said he was ready to die for good governance and fight against corruption.

“I will fight for my people to the death. I am not afraid. If they want to come for me, let them come,” he stated.

His fight against alleged corruption and not involving Nairobians in decision making by the Sakaja-led administration recently saw him question why Green Nairobi company, a private garbage collection entity, was established without public participation.

According to Munuve, the lack of consultation is a big issue as Nairobians are the ones who will be receiving services from the company.

He pursued the matter relentlessly as he queried why members of the county executive doubled as shareholders of the company.

The late MCA claimed that the setting of the company was premeditated way before, as he claimed that the shareholders and directors are his friends and that it’s not a move to finish cartels in the environment sector, but creating a bigger menace.

Munuve also claimed that the last Cabinet reshuffle by the city governor was part of the strategy of forming the company using his friends.

“What the governor has done is kill one cartel to create a bigger one. The creation of the company was all premeditated because when you even look at the cabinet reshuffle that was done last, his friends were moved back to the sectors that are critical in the formation of the company (Environment and Finance),” Munuve stated.

He addED that the delay in confirmation of the Green Army employees by the county is a reflection that the Sakaja-led administration is more focused on bringing more people into the company, increasing the menace of ghost workers in the city government.

“With Green Nairobi Company coming in, there shall be an increase in ghost workers, even as you can see, the confirmation of Green Army employees has been delayed because of that. Is Sakaja making Nairobi work or making a cartel?” he questioned.

He was concerned about the job security of the Green Nairobi Army even as efforts by the Assembly’s Environment Committee summoned Green Nairobi CEC, Maureen Njeri, and the Environment Chief Officer Geoffrey Moisiria after they failed to appear before it shed light about the company.

“They don’t want to issue contract letters to the green arm so that they can be absorbed by the illegitimate, scandalous Green Nairobi. The young women and men should continue to be part of government employees and not private companies, which can render them jobless at any time. To me, job security for the green arm is paramount!” he said.

“If it is paying garbage contractors, they only pay those close to power, especially the State House, while the Common Council contractors, who even take loans to get the contracts, are frustrated with pending bills and 20 per cent cuts as ‘return for winning the contracts’, Munuve added.

He was a victim of violence during the handover of Mama Margret Uhuru Hospital to the County government because he questioned whether the County would be able to handle the facility.

Till his death, the MCA was still fighting to have the hospital handed back to the Kenyatta National Hospital, as he even addressed the President to intervene and save the hospital from collapse.

“Residents of Kariobangi North do not have faith in the capability of the County to run Mama Margret Uhuru Hospital. Most of the County facilities lack commodities, drugs, and enough staff,” he previously told The Informer Media Group during an investigation that revealed the hospital was dwindling months after the County took over.

The most memorable encounter, which many think made him known a lot by many residents of Nairobi, was when he dared to collect signatures and initiate the impeachment of Governor Sakaja.

Munuve stated that the governor was mismanaging the county and that the service delivery was poor.

“Everything is not working. If you go to my area, there is garbage on the road. Why? Because the people who were contracted to collect the garbage are not paid,” he had argued.

Though the motion failed, Munuve said it collapsed due to threats and intimidation.

In his ward, Munuve was seen as a true grassroots leader who preferred being on the ground rather than in City Hall.

Every time we visited the ward to collect news, he was present at the ward office, attending to the needs of his residents and chatting about the way forward.

Munuve had also requested a statement over Governor Sakaja’s signature programme ‘Dishi Na County’.

In the request last month, he questioned the framework under which the program was operating.

He wanted answers on how the millions of donations made by the French government were spent and why the kids were being charged Ksh 5 per plate despite the Assembly allocating funds for the program.

He questioned why a private company, Food4Education, was being used to manage the program.

In January, he raised alarm over suspicious activities going on at the Nanyuki and Highway County stores.

He claimed that some officials were planning to lease the property to private developers without following the due process.

Leaders led by President William Ruto and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka have mourned him as a fearless leader who championed the well-being of Nairobi Residents and not Kariobangi North only.

“Joel Munuve was a bold, vocal, and enterprising leader who served the people of Kariobangi North with focus and dedication. He was hardworking, progressive, and with fresh ideas that changed the lives of many people,” President Ruto said in his condolence.

“Munuve was a tireless advocate of the rights of people, a dedicated servant of the people of Kariobangi and indeed the entire county of Nairobi, and an active member of Team SKM,” Kalonzo stated.

The Nairobi County Assembly also held a ‘special’ sitting and gave tributes to their fallen colleague.

Nominated MCA Joyce Kamau described Munuve as “a mirror of the Assembly” who reminded them of their duty to the electorate.

“We were not elected to do praise and worship. We were elected to represent the people of Nairobi,” she said.

Kamau urged her colleagues to pick up where Munuve left off and keep pressing for answers. “Let us know where the money is directed. This is a wake-up call for all of us,” she added.

Ngara Ward MCA Chege Mwaura challenged the Assembly to act on Munuve’s legacy by pushing for the production of the statements and completing the oversight work he had already begun.

“Some members of the Executive had refused to come to the Environment Committee that was probing the company when they were called. Let us see if they will refuse to come in honor of Munuve,” he said.

Umoja 1 MCA Mark Macharia called on the Assembly to avoid politicising Munuve’s death. “Let no one use the death of our colleague to settle political scores,” he cautioned, emphasizing that Munuve’s work spoke for itself.

Governor Johnson Sakaja joined in mourning the late MCA, describing him as “a dedicated and passionate servant of the people.”

“His voice in the Nairobi County Assembly was firm and always grounded in the pursuit of better service delivery and dignity for the people of Kariobangi North,” he said.

Sakaja cautioned against politicizing or “playing with” Munuve’s death.

He wondered why there were speculations of foul play, stating that an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

“We have asked for a full investigation to understand what happened because I don’t think he had a history of illness, but we will let the professionals tell us. Death is a serious thing and is not something we can play with or politicize,” Sakaja said.

He said the county government will support the family during this difficult moment.

An autopsy is scheduled  for tomorrow at the Lee Funeral Home where the body of the late legislator is being preserved.

It was postponed from today after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations took over the investigations over his sudden death.