Geoffrey Kaituko

THE RT. HON. GEOFFREY EYANAE KAITUKO was born on 30th October 1974 in Turkana County, Northern Kenya. He is a holder of multiple degrees: a Bachelor of Arts combined honors degree in Political Science and Arabic from the University of Nairobi; a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of South Africa and a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from Western Michigan University (USA). He is currently pursuing a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Public Policy at Kenyatta University, Kenya. Hon. Kaituko has dedicated his entire working life to public service in his home country of Kenya, and at all levels. His service spans community mobilization and advocacy at the grassroots level in remote, desolate, and very marginalized parts of Kenya, to public administration and policy formulation at the sub-national level in his home county of Turkana, and to his current designation as Presidential Advisor, at the highest level of government in Kenya. On completion of his undergraduate degree, Kaituko spurned opportunities on offer in the more developed parts of Kenya and relocated back to his home county of Turkana, where he served as a field coordinator, mobilizing mainly illiterate, low-income pastoralists to form village banks, supported by K-Rep Development Agency, which helped empower and bank marginalized communities. In a largely traditional and patriarchal society, Kaituko is proud of the many women he helped bank and, hence, empower to access credit.

Turkana County is situated in the Arid North-Western part of Kenya that was marginalized for many decades, as successive Kenyan administrations sought to invest limited resources in “highly productive areas.” The county thus suffers from high levels of poverty, with the majority of the population, the Turkana people, engaged in nomadic pastoralism. Child mortality rates are high, school attendance and completion rates are low, and conflict linked to cattle and pastures is common and violent.

Beginning in 2001, Kenya undertook a top-to-bottom review of her constitution. Seeing this as an opportunity to change the society for better, Kaituko served as the Turkana District Coordinator of the Constitutional Review Commission. In that capacity, he coordinated the collection of views from an area slightly larger than the state of West Virginia, in extremely harsh terrain, with nomads whose priorities were water and pasture for their livestock. The commission laid down the foundation for the 2010 Constitution, universally acknowledged as one of the most progressive constitutions, with strong protections for marginalized and minority communities in establishing counties as platforms of devolved government.

As the constitutional review process progressed slowly, Kaituko, as Drought Management Officer working with the National Drought Management Authority, helped support resilience to drought in the pastoral communities through the introduction of alternative livelihoods and improving access to education, health, water, nutrition, and technology. Kaituko is proud of the empowerment achieved through the introduction of mobile schools, including their impact on hitherto closed communities. After the first elections were held under the 2010 Constitution, Kaituko ran and was elected as the first Speaker of the County Assembly of Turkana. He laid a strong foundation for a functional and effective legislature and ensured the successful implementation of devolution through guiding the members of the Assembly, all of their first term, in the exercise of legislative, oversight, and budgetary mandates. Over forty laws were enacted during his tenure, which saw Turkana County Assembly ranked second-best nationally in law-making and eighth overall in all mandates in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

Hon. Kaituko currently serves as the Special Secretary and Advisor, Social Sector in the Presidency, domiciled in the Office of the Deputy President. He advises and assists the Deputy President and the implementing state departments of Education, Health, Labour, Social Protection, Youth, and Tourism. Hon. Kaituko is married with children. He is proudly a citizen of the world, a son, a father, a spouse, a public servant, a political leader, and a scholar. His leadership style, informed by many years working with marginalized communities, sees empowerment of individuals and communities through education and access to technology as indispensable to ensuring human dignity for all. He is a firm believer in those who are ably extending a helping hand and directing this to emergency support and empowerment.