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While his name in Kiswahili loosely means taking a leisurely walk, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya is a busy man who, by his own admission, is on duty round the clock. 

In an exclusive interview with People Daily in his Nakuru office yesterday, Natembeya said his typical day starts at 4am and ends at around 1am.

It is a highly demanding job particularly being in-charge of the country’s biggest regional administrative unit with many challenges that include banditry, cattle-rustling, ethnic rivalries and a litany of historical injustices. 

“I am on duty 24/7. You’ll never see me relaxing because of the kind of work we do.

The issues we handle directly touch on the lives of Kenyans and cannot wait,” he explained.

Natembeya’s rise up the ranks of the regional administration has been meteoric. At 50, he is currently the youngest Regional Commissioner. 

Asked what motivates him, he mentions the encouragement he gets from members of the public and his superiors. 

Vast region

“Out of 10 calls I receive, three are people complaining about various issues while seven are people thanking me for good work and that is what keeps me going,” he responded with a smile. 

He added: “God has also blessed me with the strength because I can be in Loitoktok (Kajiado) today and the next day be in Samburu and I don’t feel anything (exhaustion). I believe the positive things that people say are a blessing.” 

Rift Valley borders Tanzania in the South and Uganda and South Sudan in the north. 

It is a vast area with huge historical significance having suffered perennial ethnic conflicts, the latest being the flare ups in Ol Moran, Laikipia county where eight people, including three police officers, were killed by bandits between August and September. 

“We have had security issues in Trans Mara, Narok and even here in Nakuru between Ogiek and the Kipsigis,” he said.

“But, we have managed to solve them and the people there are living peacefully.

Laikipia is a big area and its only Ol Moran where we have challenges because herders converge there for pasture and water,” he explained.

Beaten path

A student of former Internal Security Minister John Michuki, by virtue of having been his personal assistant for four years, Natembeya said he learned important lessons from the no-nonsense politician who died in 2012.

“Everything I know in Public Service I learned from John Michuki,” he said, barely disguising his admiration for the man credited for instilling discipline in the matatu industry when he was the Transport Minister.

The father of three boys—two in college and one in high school—Natembeya describes himself as a family man and a born leader. 

“I get satisfaction and drive from solving people’s problems and putting a smile in their faces. The challenges I encounter also make me stronger,” he stated.

Prodded to comment on rumours that he is contemplating hanging up his administrator’s boots to try his hand in elective politics, he responded: “I think I have reached the apex of my career in the civil service and I am now ready for a fresh challenge,” he said, adding that he intends to vie for the Trans Nzoia gubernatorial seat. 

He said that he will not have a problem switching from provincial administration to politics since it is all about service to the people. 

He will be following a beaten path considering that his former predecessors in the Rift Valley Provincial Commissioners seat such as Simeon Nyachae and Yusuf Haji successfully transitioned into elective politics. 

His mentor Michuki also served as a District Commissioner.

“I have risen from a DO to where I am today and I don’t think I will sit here doing the same thing for the next 15 years,” he added.

While Natembeya publicly comes across as a tough-talking administrator, in private, he is soft-spoken.  

If he runs for governor, he will square it out with, among others  Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa and Trans Nzoia Woman Rep Janet Nangabo, who have declared interest in the seat.