Friday, June 14, 2013

From ‘mitumba’ trader to Member of Parliament

By John Lawrence

jlopate@standardmedia.co.ke

That George Theuri has got swag is not in doubt. From the casual dressing and demeanour in social events to Parliament’s formal setting, the youthful Embakasi West MP (TNA) seems at ease whenever he goes.
As a young man growing up in the city’s Umoja Estate, his childhood dream was to serve the people as a pastor, but fate paved a different route.
“I wanted to be a man of God and my passion has always been to serve the people. But here I am today still serving the people in a different front,” Theuri, 35, told The Nairobian.
His journey to Parliament can be traced back to perceptions of unfairness by the notoriously brutal kanjo (city council askaris). After attaining his diploma in Theology, Theuri started off as a mitumba (second-hand clothes) trader in a tiny stall. He and his counterparts had many run-ins with the askaris, whose sad end was the demolition of the stalls on Umoja’s Moi Drive, where Theuri was based.
“When the askaris raided our businesses, we tried reaching the then area councillor in vain. That angered me and my colleagues and it is then that I felt the urge to defend the rights of the youth in Umoja I,” says Theuri.
He was subsequently elected Umoja I councillor in 2007, and was perceived to be a close ally of unsuccessful Embakasi parliamentary candidate John Ndirangu — a controversial former city mayor, who is now Embakasi Central MP (TNA). His closeness to Ndirangu even gave rise to rumours that they were father and son. It is something he still has to constantly clarify.   
“This was a rumour started by my opponents. For the record, let it be known that I am George Theuri son to Atnus Mungai and Jane Wanjiru. Our family has no blood relation to Hon Ndirangu,” said Theuri.
The father of two — Gitonga, 6, and Muhinja Theuri, 2 — is married to Cynthia Wanjiru. The couple, whose love affair dates back to their primary school days, tied the knot in 2000.
“We’ve been friends since childhood, grew up together in the same neighbourhoods and started dating when I was at Parklands High School and he was at Ofafa Jericho Secondary,” says Wanjiru.
His first three months as an MP have seen him grapple with endless demands and needs from constituents who usually flock his homestead in Umoja every day. He believes in transforming his constituency to the satisfaction of those who elected him without shouting too much about it.
“I am from a humble Christian background not used to yelling or making headlines. I also borrow a lot from my dad, a calm man who always keeps to himself. I’m sure a number of our neighbours do not even know him,” he says of his leadership style.
Theuri has in recent weeks gone against the tide by opposing MPs’ demands for Sh851,000 salary instead of the recommended Sh532,000. The Eastlands legislator says some of his senior colleagues have dismissed his stand as naïve.
There have been recent rumours, which were the subject of a question posed in last week’s edition of The Nairobian, that the MP is dating Ogopa DJs songbird Marya. He, however, dismisses any such suggestions.
“It is unfortunate that merely posing for photos with friends and celebrities can be turned into something else. I am happily married and not involved with any other woman whatsoever,” he says.
In Parliament, Thueri serves as a member of both Administration and National Security Committee and the Committee on Delegated Legislation.

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