| Intro | Kenyan politician (b. 1949, d. 2013) |
| Was |
Activist Politician |
| From | Kenya |
| Type |
Activism Politics |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 1949 |
| Death |
June 2013 (aged 64 years) |
Philomena Chelagat Mutai (1949-2013) was a Kenyan activist and politician, known for her stands on political assassinations, land grabs and corruption. She championed the inclusion of women in Kenyan politics and society, and as a lifelong activist for better governance.
Early life
Mutai was born in 1949 in Terige, Lessos, in Nandi.
Her social and political activism got her expelled from Highlands Girls School, now known as Moi Girls Eldoret, for leading a student strike.
She enrolled in University of Nairobi to study political science. She was a student leader and the editor of the student newspaper, The Platform. Because of her radical ideas and firm political stands, she was repeatedly suspended.
Career
Six months after graduating, Chelagat Mutai contested for the Eldoret North Parliamentary seat. The seat had become vacant after the incumbent, William Saina, was imprisoned for incitement. Although she had shown an interest in elective politics, her first choice had been the Eldoret South seat. She changed her mind after consulting with her mentor, Jean-Marie Seroney.
At age 24 she defeated a field of more male experienced opponents, becoming Parliament’s youngest member at the time.
Chelagat and Seroney fought for good governance, and were interested in going beyond Nandi Nationalism. Chelagat used her platform to criticize Jomo Kenyatta’s government, speaking out against his decision to make land pacts with the British.
She joined a small group of vocal legislators, derisively called “The Seven Bearded Sisters” by then Attorney General Charles Njonjo. Her colleagues included Martin Shikuku, Dr. Chibule wa Tsuma, Lawrence Sifuna, Abuya Abuya, George Anyona, James Orengo, and Koigi wa Wamwere.
In 1976 she was prosecuted for inciting squatters to invade a sisal farm in Ziwa. She served two and a half years in prison, losing her parliamentary seat in the same way as her predecessor.
She was released from prison in September 1978. In the next election in 1979, she ousted Sirma. In her second term, she was vocal about the government’s inadequate response during the 1980 famine.
After politics
Chelagat fled from Kenya to Tanzania in 1981 after learning of a plot to detain her again, this time over alleged false mileage claims. She returned three years later to check on her ailing mother, but kept away from politics.
After her return to Kenya in 1984, Chelagat Mutai reconciled somewhat with the KANU government. She was appointed to a senior position at Kenya Commercial Bank. She worked within KANU headquarters, and for the Standing Committee on Human Rights. She was fired from the human rights body through a radio bulletin in June 1999, and withdrew to her father’s farm in Terige.
Illness and Death
In 2006, Chelagat Mutai was involved in a road accident that left her confined to a wheelchair. She spent the next years of her life in near destitution, at one point living in a friend’s one-room house in a Nairobi estate. Her plight was highlighted by a 2011 visit by then Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Chelagat died in June 2013.