Education: I attended primary school at Turima and Rancha primary schools, I went to Chogoria Boys High school for my secondary education and attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography major and Sociology minor at Egerton University. I later did a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing Administration, Masters in Urban Management and Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Management all at the University of Nairobi. I have several certificates in Strategic Leadership and Development Programme (SLDP); Management of urban infrastructure; International Project Management and Financial Resource Mobilization; Public Private Partnerships; Environmental Impact Assessments and Audits (EIA/EA); Senior Management course and Conflict Management, Resolution and Transformation among others.
Experience: I am currently an Assistant Director Housing (Slum Upgrading, with the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, where I undertake several housing, slum upgrading and civil servants housing schemes, environmental impact assessments, and also the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP) that is a World Bank funded project in 33 counties of Kenya. I have worked with the government from 2009 to date. Prior to that, I worked for seven years in various secondary schools in Tharaka where in some cases I was among the founding team of such schools as Turima Mixed Day and Boarding, Ngonya secondary, Kaanyaga secondary and Mukothima Girls. I was a class teacher, Deputy Principal, Principal, Christian Union Patron, Head of department among other duties.
Awards/recognition: I was awarded many certificates of exemplary academic performance in my High school and also many for leadership roles I played in high school and university life too.
First job/salary: My first job was in 1999 when I was forced to teach at Turima Primary School to cater for my siblings who had been sent away from school as I was in form three. The salary was Kenya Shillings Eight Hundred, of which 600 would go to their fees and I would keep 200 for my fare to Chogoria Boys High school.
Worst/best job: I have not had any job I can say was the worst since all the jobs I did were to keep me surviving or to save a dire situation that had engulfed my family. My best job is the current employment with the Government at the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, which has afforded me time and resources to study from Post Graduate Diploma, Masters and Doctorate without any scholarship but through the earnings accrued over time. The job has enabled me to travel wide in Kenya and also to tour Uganda and India through Dubai, where I saw the power of insightful leadership. I have used the current job to improve the educational outcomes and living standards of my siblings and my community since I have never been to school for three months nonstop throughout my primary and secondary life. I had purposed that none of my siblings should experience what I went through.
First/current neighbourhoood: I have lived in Githurai 45 and later relocated to the employer assisted house at Jogoo road.
Worst mistake: Naively believing that students perform poorly due to lack of school fees. I ensured my siblings were adequately fed, housed and fees paid on time but the results haven’t been that encouraging.
Missed opportunity: I got my government job after my father had passed on, I missed an opportunity to shower him with good life. I didn’t take driving lessons when I was young since I lived under lots of poverty.
One thing I can’t give away: My wife Lydiah Kawira has been with me through thick and thin, my children Joash and Jethro are always prodding me to improve their living conditions.
Most embarrassing moment: I had had gone to seek my father in laws approval for me to register my wedding with my wife, but he had been prevailed upon by my own relatives not to allow it until I could pay some items as per our culture. Fortunately, I got money from a friend later in the day and secured a job at Mukothima Girls the following day and as the week was coming to end, I had provided what was required and the wedding arrangements went on as scheduled.
One thing I regret: Poverty derailed my scheduled time to acquire a doctorate which I had purposed to attain when I was 35 years or below!
Proudest moment: When I graduated with a PhD in Urban Management at the University of Nairobi in 2020. This was a dream I haboured since 1992 as I was in class five, where I informed my fellow pupils that I would be educated to the doctorate level, after which they burst into laughter since they saw the poverty I was living in.
Best advice ever: You are the product of what you believe in and what you create for yourself, because you are a god –see Psalms 82:6 and hence you can create good things mentally and they will be manifested physically for all to see. What you see is what you get! If you don’t know where you are going, any way will take you there. You cannot prevent a bird from flying over you, but you can prevent it from landing on your head.
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti, PhD Urban Management, website: https://www.danielmutegigiti.com
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 