Bungoma Senate Aspirant on a UDA ticket Mwambu Mabonga managed to transform himself from a priest to one of Kenya’s most resilient politicians within a decade.
The former Member of Parliament for Bumula Constituency in Bungoma County has managed to beat the odds and climb through the ladder of success within a short period of time and is showing no signs of fading just yet.
He has largely managed to keep his personal life under wraps, especially anything to do with family and social circles but what is known has pointed to a man on a mission to succeed.
The trained man of the cloth attended Siritanyi Primary School and St. Teresa’s Kabula Secondary School where he posted impressive grades.
That marked the start of his theology journey, joining the East Africa School of Theology to pursue a pre-University Program and later a Bachelor of Arts degree. He joined Daystar University for a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology.
His career kicked off in 2000 when he was employed at the Kenya Prisons as a chaplain-in-charge of the Ruiru Staff Training College. He served in the role for seven years before his promotion to a Provincial Rehabilitation Officer, a position he occupied for three years.
Mabonga then rose to work in the Office of the Vice President as a Rehabilitation Officer between 2010 and 2012 where he rubbed shoulders with politicians.
The political ‘fever’ soon caught up with him when he worked as a Political Advisor to the County Governor of Trans-Nzoia between 2014 and 2017.
He headed to the call and thrust himself into the deep end of the political pool in 2017 running as an independent candidate for the Bumula Constituency MP against the then-strong tide of the National Super Alliance in Bungoma County.
The victory was, however, not to be denied for him as he secured the win in the constituency that has never re-elected a member of parliament.
He served as a Member of Parliament for five years. Midway, Mabonga aligned himself with the then Deputy President’s Tangatanga faction.
This led to his decision to seek reelection on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket facing his former rivals in what was largely a rematch of 2017.
He was not as lucky this time and lost the seat to Democratic Action Party Kenya’s (DAP-K) candidate Jack Wamboka in a tight contest.
The ‘never say die’ man dusted himself and was back in the ring when the Bungoma Senate seat was declared vacant following Moses Wetangula’s election as The National Assembly Speaker.
His troubles were however not over following his choice of running under his UDA Party ticket with the seat having been treated as a reserve of the Ford Kenya Party.
This has led to a fallout with his colleagues within the party in Bungoma, most of whom openly support his opponent Wafula Wakoli. He has however insisted that he is still firmly in the race.
It remains to be seen what direction his career takes after the by-election results.
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