Inviolata’s quest for leadership comes from real-life experiences

Published on 29th November 2007

Inviolata Mmbwavi is a sensation in Kenya and beyond for advancing the rights of Aids patients. But that is not the only attribute that stands out of the youthful Embakasi parliamentary aspirant who eludes charm and charisma in equal measure.

The young woman  who is promising to bring  "development , employment to the youth and strategic leadership” to the people of Embakasi  has earned accolades for her role in reversing the story of HIV/ Aids in the country by fighting to ensure that HIV/ Aids patients in Kenya can access retroviral medication for free. This battle, she has not only waged it at the local stage but also international.

So when Inviolata decided to plunge herself into what has been described as the murky waters of politics, what was her inspiration, one may ask? “I am a third born in the family of ten. My upbringing has potent bearing into my decision to run for the Embakasi seat.” She says, “I am a strong believer in equity and fairness. As a little girl I felt I was deprived of this, my sister- our first born – and my brother- the second born- were treated fairly better than I was. Probably because of their age and also because they were classes ahead of me in school. I did most of the domestic chores, something that occasionally infuriated me.”

Her story mirrors into the typical rural life as she reflects with a nostalgic ring how as a little girl she had to go to collect firewood on coming back home from school, ensure that her siblings were bathed and fed. This experience, she says hardened her and “contributed to great measure to what I am today. With my mother, we tilled land and planted potatoes to feed the rest of the family.”

Speaking on education, she says, “I am very grateful to my father. If there’s anything great he endowed me with, is my education at Buhulunya Primary school from 1979 to 1986 when I sat my K.C.P.E   and Lihanda Girls secondary school, both schools in western province where I was born and brought up. A very modest upbringing.”

As a the national coordinator of the National Empowerment of the People Living with Aids in Kenya (Nephak), she has displayed a sense of determination and hard work, attributes that Inviolata says she “ picked up from my father while I was growing up. My father was in the disciplined force. He was a policeman. From him I learnt the virtues of law and order. I learnt to be a well disciplined girl without necessarily allowing myself to be stepped on. I was also a loyal member of the debating club. That is how I ended up being head girl at secondary school. These leadership traits I posses now, have been nurtured over time.” She says.

After completion of her secondary education in 1990, she came to Nairobi to search for employment. She worked in a number of organisations including the Women Fighting Aids in Kenya ( WOFAK).

On her Political party choice KADDU she says, “I chose KADDU because of what it stands for. It believes in affirmative action and fairness for all.”

Her success as she says has been because their have been people around to help her get up the ladder. She says she is grateful to the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA) for their immense support towards her, and particularly for enabling her attain a degree in counseling and psychology from Durhan University in United Kingdom.

Inviolata is a mother to a 14-year-old daughter who just sat her K.C.P.E this year. And Inviolata is looking forward to clinch the Embakasi parliamentary seat, a constituency she describes as “a social time bomb that requires remedial measures to salvage it.”

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