How Peter Kenneth inspired Amisi’s entry into politics while fresh from campus
By Mustafa Juma, August 5, 2025Saboti Member of Parliament (MP) Caleb Amisi has opened up about the humble beginnings of his political journey, recounting how a conversation with former presidential aspirant Peter Kenneth inspired him to venture into politics while still fresh from university.
Speaking during an interview with media personality Obinna on Monday, August 4, 2025, Amisi shared that during his time at the University of Nairobi, he was involved in leadership, though not the typical student political activism.
Instead, he was active in alumni gatherings known as “Mbuzi” organised by former students of Starehe Boys Centre, where he studied.
Encounter with Peter Kenneth
It was during one of these meetings that he met Peter Kenneth, then a presidential hopeful for the 2013 General Election.
“While on campus, I was in leadership, but not political leadership. There is something called Mbuzi by the old boys of Starehe, where alumni used to meet. So I met Peter Kenneth, and he was vying for president in 2013,” Amisi narrated.
Amisi recalled Kenneth telling him, “Unajua sasa Uhuru anaenda Hague ICC,” referring to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s then-pending case at the International Criminal Court.
Kenneth, a fellow alumnus of Starehe, expressed confidence in his chances of clinching the presidency, banking on the support of the Kikuyu community and urging Amisi to take charge of mobilisation in Western Kenya.
“And he told me that “unajua sasa Uhuru anaenda Hague ICC. I believed this Starehe boy was going to be the president, and I know how Starehe material can change this country. That is the moment I felt proud of my nation. Akasema, Sasa Wakikuyu wote wamesema ni mimi; sasa wewe shika huko Western. Nikamwambia, From now onwards, I am going to campaign for you; region ya Western niachie,” he stated.
Amisi’s parliamentary ambitions
Despite being fresh from campus, Amisi threw himself into the 2013 campaigns under the Kenya National Congress party and even went as far as vying for the Saboti parliamentary seat. Although he didn’t win, garnering 4,000 votes, his courage and drive left a mark.
He recalled that an international organisation surveying the Saboti race described him dismissively as “a small toddler moving around,” but that didn’t deter him.
That failed attempt, he said, marked the beginning of his political life—a bold step fuelled by faith in change and national transformation.
“Then I went and started campaigning for Peter Kenneth under the Kenya National Congress party. In the process of campaigning, I put my name on the ballot as a Member of Parliament for Saboti Constituency. Just a young man from university, freshly graduated,” he said.
“There is an international organisation that was doing a survey on Saboti candidates, and someone listed me as a small toddler moving around. I managed to get 4,000 votes in that election, nikaanguka.”