7 Kenyan celebrities who became politicians (Photos)

Two days ago, the ‘Jicho Pevu’ journalist officially declared his interest in the Nyali parliamentary seat which is currently occupied by Hezron Awiti. The current MP is hoping to be the next Mombasa County governor on a Wiper Democratic Movement ticket.

But Moha is not the first Kenyan celebrity to dip into politics. Below are 7 celebrities in Kenya who became/have become politicians:

7. Mwongolo

George Mwangangi known as Mwongolo served as a Nominated councillor under the ODM party ticket after the 2007 general election. As the 2013 elections came close, he declared his intent in running for a political office as a county representative for the Ziwani Ward which he lost.

6. Millicent Muga

Known for her feisty nature during the 2011 Big Brother Amplified TV Reality Show, the beauty clinched the TNA nomination party ticket beating Mongolo before bagging the title of MCA, Ziwani Ward in Nairobi.

5. Nyasuguta

The ‘Vitimbi’ actress is vying for the Embakasi South MP seat. Unfortunately she was recently attacked and viciously beaten by thugs at Mukuru kwa Reuben where she had gone to visit some women.

Speaking to Word Is, Nyasuguta said “Three men attacked me as one of them kept watch. They punched my face and hit me with a wooden rod on my neck and back. I kept telling them, take the money I had but they did not steal anything from me. One of them even told me, 'Hatuna njaa ya pesa.' (We are not hungry for money).They later told me that 'Embakasi iko na wenyewe'. (Embakasi constituency has its owners)"

But despite the setbacks, Nyasuguta is still very interested in the seat.

4. Sabina Chege

Sabina started her acting career as Rehema in 1990’s KBC show, Tausi before being elected as the Murang’a County Women Representative in March 2013 on The National Alliance (TNA) political party ticket.

She has also set her sights on the Vice Presidency after declaring that she is interested in being Ruto’s running mate come 2022 but if things don’t go as planned she will support whoever Ruto Picks.

3. Esther Passaris

Esther Passaris started out as a beauty queen where she managed to become the first runner’s up at Miss World Kenya during her younger years. But she burst into the limelight as the iron-lady who sued her current husband after he promised to marry her and he didn’t.

But away from that, Esther’s multi-million project Adopt-A-Light has managed to light up parts of Nairobi especially the unfortunate areas. In addition Miss Passaris has awards like Most influential women in business and government by CEO Global, South Africa and the 2008 Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) given to her by Kenya’s ex-president Mwai Kibaki.

Politically, Passaris has run for the Embakasi M.P office, as a Nairobi Women’s and is currently in the Nairobi gubernatorial race .

2. Johnson Sakaja

Before he was appointed as the National Chairman of TNA and nominated as a Member of Parliament, Sakaja was a rapper in a band called Mission Driven.

Now he is hoping to take Jubilee to the polls for the gubernatorial elections but will first have to beat Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru and former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru who are also hoping to carry the Jubilee flag in Nairobi.

1. Boniface Mwangi

The award-winning Kenyan photojournalist is the brains behind Team Courage, the founder of creative hub PAWA 254 and the author of UnBounded.

Known for his protests against injustice, Boniface Mwangi has decided to take this fight to the corridors of power by vying for the Embakasi parliamentary seat.

“I am vying for this seat because I want to take the fight from the streets into the chambers where decisions are made. I want to echo the people’s voice in spaces where they have been ignored for too long. I have relentlessly challenged the establishment for their bad decisions and failed governance, now I want to continue with the fight from the inside of parliament.” He wrote on his website after declaring his interest in politics.