Kalonzo Musyoka

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Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka (born December 24, 1953 in Tseikuru, Mwingi District) and is a Kenyan politician and was the foreign minister of Kenya from 1993 until 1998 and from 2003 until June 30, 2004, when he was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle.

1 Early life
2 Politics
3 External links
4 Further reading

[edit] Early life

He was born in a remote part of Mwingi District, (then part of Kitui District) in Kenya's Eastern Province. Between 1960 and 1967 he studied at Tseikuru Full Primay School. Then he went to Kitui High School in Kitui and eventually to Meru High School in Meru from where he graduated in 1973. Kalonzo Musyoka graduated as a Baclelor of Law from the University of Nairobi in 1977. He continued further studies at the Kenya School of Law.

[edit] Politics

Musyoka vied for the Kitui North Constituency parliamentary seat in 1983, but was defeated. At the time, Kenya was one-party state and the only party fielding kandidates was Kenya African National Union (KANU). However, only two years later, in 1985 the Kitui North seat was vacated and Musyoka won subsequent by-elections, thus becoming a MP at the age of 32. In 1986 he was appointed Assistant Minister for Works. He was re-elected at the 1988 parliamentary elections. He was KANU's National Organizing Secretary from 1988 to 1998.

Kenya's first multiparty elections were held in 1992. Musyoka stayed in KANU, renewed his parliamentary position and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He also held couple of other ministerial positions while part of the KANU government.

In the months leading up to the 2002 general election, under the leadership of then KANU secretary general, Raila Odinga, he decamped from KANU to join the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under the banner of the National Rainbow Coalition, which went on to win the general elections.

He was reportedly unhappy with the president's refusal to honour a pre-election Memorandum of understanding (MOU) which they had signed with the president's party NAK and hence his demotion. He was Minister for the Environment as well as one of the leaders of the successful "No"-campaign in the referendum on the proposed new constitution.

Kalonzo Musyoka is widely expected to vie for presidency at elections scheduled for December 2007. Musyoka is now campaigning for the ODM-Kenya ticket, where he will face a number of other contenders. His relationship with fellow ODM-Kenya leader Raila Odinga, who is also after the ODM-Kenya presidential ticket, has been the subject of much speculation. Many observers question whether the presidential hopefuls of ODM-Kenya, particularly Raila and Musyoka, can unite to support one common candidate for the general election.

Musyoka has been quoted on saying "... the war against poverty could not be won unless environmental issues were addressed."