Ngala Mwendwa

Eliud Ngala Mwendwa (1923 – June 8, 2016) was a Kenyan teacher and politician. He was a member of the Kenyan delegation to the 1960 Lancaster House Conference, which negotiated the country's independence from the United Kingdom.[1] Mwendwa then served as Minister for Labour within President Jomo Kenyatta's first post-independence 15-member cabinet.[1] He ultimately served as the Minister for Labour and Social Services from 1963 until 1974 under Kenyatta.[1]

Mwendwa was born in 1923 to Kitui Paramount Chief Mwendwa Kitavi and his fifth wife (Kitavi had seven wives).[1] His brother, Kitili Maluki Mwendwa, became the first African-born Chief Justice of Kenya.[2] Another brother, Kyale Mwendwa, was a former Cabinet minister and director of education.[1] Mwendwa's sister-in-law, Nyiva Mwendwa, became the first woman to serve as a Cabinet minister in Kenya's history.[1]

He graduated from Kagumo Teachers College and worked as a teacher until he entered politics in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] He was first elected to the Legislative Council of Kitui.[1]

Mwendwa was first elected to the Legislative Council of Kenya (Legco) from Kitui in 1963 after the country gained independence.[2] He then served as an MP for Kitui in Legco's successor, the National Assembly, from 1963 until 1969.[2] In 1969, Mwendwa moved to nearby Kitui Central Constituency, which he represented as an MP from 1969 to 1974.[2] In 1974, Mwendwa was defeated for re-election by Daniel Mutinda, the former Minister of Information and Broadcasting.[2]

Ngala Mwendwa died from complications of a heart attack at the Nairobi Hospital ICU unit on June 8, 2016, at the age of 93.[1][2] He was buried at his home in Ithookwe, Kitui County, on June 18, 2016.[2] He was survived by his wife, Priscilla Kavutha Mwendwa, and their eight children.[1] Mwendwa's first wife, Agnes Kana, died in 1960.[1]

References
  1. Ombour, Joe (2016-06-09). "Former Cabinet Minister Eliud Ngala Mwendwa takes the final bow after colourful political career". The Standard (Kenya). Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  2. Waita, Thomas (2016-06-19). "Veteran Kitui politician Eliud Ngala Mwendwa laid to rest". Daily Nation (AllAfrica.com). Retrieved 2016-06-27.
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