Meet Susan Kihika the new governor of Nakuru County of Kenya

Kenyan politician and attorney Susan Wakarura Kihika is the outgoing senator. 2017 saw her election to the Senate. She was chosen to serve as the Jubilee Party Majority whip after her election. She served in the office until May 11th, 2020, when Senator Irungu Kang’ata took her place.

She was the first female speaker of the Nakuru County Assembly before that. Susan Kihika served as Speaker and Vice Chair of the County Assemblies Forum (CAF).

The President of the IPU Bureau of Women Parliamentarians is Susan Kihika. She is a candidate for governor of Nakuru County in the Kenyan general election of 2022.

Background and Education

1974 saw the birth of Kihika in Nakuru County. Her father, Kihika Kimani, was a politician during the Moi era (1930–2004). Susan is one of her father’s 41 offspring. She was his second wife, Alice’s, sixth child.

Susan went to Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls’ High School in Nyeri and Busara Forest View Academy in Nyahururu. She later moved to the US in 1992 to pursue additional education.

She received admission to the University of North Texas and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science there. She obtained her Juris Doctor in 2006 from Southern Methodist University’s Dallas, Texas, law school. After passing the necessary tests, she was subsequently admitted to the Texas Bar.

Career

She entered the government sector after earning her legal degree. Later, after leaving the government, she opened The Kihika Law Firm in Dallas, Texas. After being in the US for 20 years, Kihika left and went back to her home country of Kenya in 2012.

Political Career

She ran for the Bahati Constituency seat in parliament in 2013, however she was unsuccessful. Then, she proceeded to defeat a group of seven rivals to become the first Assembly Speaker of Nakuru County.

On a Jubilee Party ticket, she ran for and won the Nakuru County senate seat in 2017. thereby becoming the county of Nakuru’s first female senator.

She ran for and won the Nakuru County Governor election on August 9th, 2022, using the UDA platform. She became the first female governor of this county after defeating Lee Kinyanjui, who was running on a Jubilee Party platform. She is frequently referred to as the “Woman of Firsts” by the residents of her county.