The Kenyan National Assembly boasts lawmakers from all kinds of backgrounds, and in this segment, Nairobileo.co.ke reflects on the grass to grace story of Mwingi West Member of Parliament Charles Ngusya Nguna.
The lawmaker describes his leadership style as soft-spoken but with a meaningful impact.
During a past interview with a local daily, Nguna revealed that he was raised majorly by his grandmother in Kitui County because his parents had landed a scholarship and travelled to Greece.
File image of MP Charles Ngusya Nguna. |Photo| Courtesy|
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They lived in poverty and all Nguna wanted was for their fortunes to change, one day.
"We were very poor. In my teenage years, I would work as a shamba boy, I used to pick out weeds in people's farms and dig wells for a small wage. A day's job in the hot sun would earn me Ksh 200," he narrated.
He then learnt how to make sisal ropes from his grandmother and he would sell them at the market to raise some money for themselves.
Nguna sat for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams from Migwani Boys Secondary School and proceeded to join the United States International University (USIU).
He pursued a degree in International Business Administration and was sponsored by his parents who at the time, had began to work and earn from Greece.
After university, Nguna was employed as a project manager at a Real Estate company and from there he began investing in various properties within Nairobi.
He then moved to the UK in 2007 where he pursued a Masters in economics at the University of Middlesex.
"While in the UK, I'd work part-time jobs and even went ahead and did my second Masters in Political Science at the London School of Business," he stated.
Nguna graduated in 2010, and after failing to land a job in the UK, he travelled back to Kenya.
He worked for a number of companies before he opted to join politics in 2016.
"I realised the incumbent MP wasn't performing and the youth in Mwingi West encouraged me to run. Also, I used to run youth projects Nguna Cup when I was still in University," he explained.
Nguna joined Wiper Kenya and was successfully elected. However, he began experiencing the challenges of being a leader.
"I was stable financially, but when I joined politics, my financial status has declined but I'm not badly off. I have to share my income with the constituents and handle some projects from pockets as well," he stated.
The lawmaker noted that his personal life was affected as he got enemies and trolled on social media.
Nguna in the course of his term has managed to lobby projects for his constituents including roads, building classrooms, conducting youth and women empowerment projects as well as encouraging the planting of trees.
"Water being a major issue in my constituency, I have constructed two earth dams from my salary together with a local NGO for the people of Mwingi West," he stated.
