In April 2012, Dr Machel Waikenda broke into limelight when he joined The National Alliance as an acting Executive Director and later served as the party's Director of Communications. In that year, President Uhuru Kenyatta rallied the youth to form a campaign team that would see him ascend to power as Kenya's fourth President.
In May 2019, Kenyatta accommodated him into his inner circle by rewarding him with an advisory role at State House. The Head of State appointed him Director of Political and Intergovernmental Affairs at State House.
However, before joining Kenyatta's team, Waikenda quit an illustrious pilot career at Kenya Airways to focus on businesses and politics.
Having studied Airline Pilot Training at Florida Flyers Flight Academy in the US, the Kiambu County native began his careers as a pilot trainee at KQ in 2005. Six months later he was promoted to the rank of co-pilot or First Officer.
He flew Boeing 737 and Boeing 767 jets across Africa and Europe spending over 3,000 flight hours.
Prior to his State House appointment, he had also served as Kiambu County's first CEC in charge of youth affairs, sports, and communications between January 2014 and August 2017.
While in office, he spearheaded the war against unemployment, drugs and alcohol abuse and crime.
Waikenda is also an advocate for youth affairs, having worked with the World Youth Program and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as an Advisory Board Member. NEPAD is an economic development program of the African Union.
He is also a founder member of Blackstar Entertainment Company. Blackstar is a youth-based company that provides solutions to corporations in entertainment and arts and also uplifts the youth.
The 39-year-old graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at the University of Florida in 2005 and attained a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Entrepreneurship at University of Phoenix, USA.
He summed his education with a PhD in Business Administration in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the United States International University (USIU) Africa.
