Kirinyaga’s founding Deputy Governor Julius Muthike Njiri dies

Kirinyaga founding Deputy Governor Julius Muthike Njiri. /FILE

Kirinyaga is mourning the death of its founding Deputy Governor, Julius Muthike Njiri, who served in the county’s first administration between 2013 and 2017.

Governor Anne Waiguru confirmed the news on her official X account Tuesday evening, describing him as a leader who “stood for service, knowledge, and enterprise.”

"My condolences to his family, colleagues, and the people whose lives he touched.”

Njiri was elected on a TNA ticket alongside Governor Joseph Ndathi in the inaugural devolved government elections of 2013.

His tenure was marked by both service and controversy, as he frequently complained of being sidelined.

In 2015, he accused Ndathi of failing to assign him duties, saying he spent much of the year idle and instead pursued donor-funded drainage projects in Kimbimbi and Ngurubani.

He later decried being denied constitutional entitlements, including transport and fuel allowances, and claimed his official vehicle had been withdrawn—accusations Ndathi dismissed.

Their strained relationship defined much of the county’s first government, with Njiri eventually accusing his boss of politically weakening him ahead of the 2017 polls.

Despite the political turbulence, Njiri carved a place in Kirinyaga’s history as one of the architects of its devolved governance.

He later attracted national recognition when he was shortlisted by the Public Service Commission for the position of chairperson of the Universal Service Advisory Council.

A scholar, Njiri built an impressive academic profile in later years.

He earned a PhD in Business Administration from Miramar California University in 2022, a Global MBA from USIU in 2018, a Global Executive MBA from the same institution in 2011, and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Nairobi in 2008.

Though little else is publicly known about his private life, Njiri’s death closes the chapter on one of Kirinyaga’s pioneer leaders, whose role in shaping the county’s formative years under devolution remains part of its political history.