Susan Nakhumicha Wafula (née: Susan Nakhumicha) is a

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n politician former cabinet secretary of health and supply chain expert in the

Cabinet of Kenya Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. Beyond the KMTC diploma, she has a first class honors bachelor in Procurement and Logistics from JKUAT. Before that she oversaw the supply chain for the Global Programme for Research and Training at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

(UCSF).

Background and education

Reliable Kenyan online sources report that she was born in the town of

Kitale Kitale is a town in the north west of Kenya, in the former Rift Valley province, between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills. It has an elevation of around . Its population was as of 2019. It is the location of Kitale Airport. The National ...

, in the

Trans-Nzoia County Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the county capital and largest town. I ...

. After attending primary and secondary school, she was admitted to the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), where she graduated with a Diploma in Pharmacy. She then enrolled at the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), where she obtained a Diploma in Healthcare Management. In 2012 she claims that she was admitted to the

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, ...

(JKUAT) where she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Procurement and Management followed by a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management. All these are however unverifiable including an online pharmacy degree that she claims to have studied at Ege University, Turkey but the University refuted the claims by assuring the public that they do not offer online degree courses.

Career

Before politics

For a period of time, she worked at ''Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies'' (MEDS), a Catholic

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

in Kenya. She also worked at the Nairobi Women's Hospital as the manager of procurement and logistics. Earlier in her career, she served as the Pharmaceutical Technologist-in-charge of the AAR Healthcare Kisumu Branch. At the time she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health, she worked as the Head of Supply Chain at the Institute for Global Health Sciences of the University of California, San Francisco.

Political career

In 2022, she joined Kenya's elective politics. She contested for the Trans-Nzoia Women's Constituency seat on the Ford Kenya political party ticket. She lost to the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

, Lillian Chebet Siyoi Walubengo of the

United Democratic Alliance (Kenya) The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is the current ruling political party in Kenya. Their slogan is "Kazi ni Kazi" (literally: ''A job is a job''; All hustles matter) and their symbol is a wheelbarrow. The party, initially called the Party of De ...

References

External links

Why primary health care is at the core of Kenya's Universal Health Coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakhumicha, Susan Wafula Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Government ministers of Kenya 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians Women government ministers of Kenya People from Trans-Nzoia County Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology alumni Kenyan women in politics