Ex-Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi Opens Up About Personal Struggle: Confronting Depression
Kiraitu Murungi, the former governor of Meru, boldly exposed his battle with depression as a result of his failure in the 2022 general election, where he lost the gubernatorial race to Independent Candidate Kawira Mwangaza.
During an interview, the seasoned politician spoke candidly about the difficulties he faced following the loss, expressing real disbelief. This setback was particularly difficult for him to accept because it was his first election defeat in thirty years.
According to the Harvard alumni, the setback helped him appreciate how far he had come and the rapidly shifting political scene even more.
Kiraitu, a High Court counsel, revealed that after his defeat, he traveled to the United Kingdom to see his daughter and stayed for two weeks.
“I was essentially doing nothing.” “I tried to relax and think about my situation,” Kiraitu explained.
“I would have retired by now even if I had been a primary school teacher.” At the age of 60, people are retiring. I am 70 years old, ten years past retirement age. What I’ve done should be enough. “I should thank the people of Meru for allowing me to lead them for thirty years,” he continued.
To combat the despair that seized him following the election loss, the former governor stated that he sought happiness by creating the journal “The Happiness Journal,” which is intended to spark a happiness revolution among leaders committed to uplifting others in society.
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“After politics, I felt I should do something else that has an impact on people’s lives.” “Because the Happiness Resource Center is new and we don’t have the funds to hire staff, I became the chief happiness officer,” Kiraitu Murungi explained.
The former governor stated emphatically that the pursuit of happiness is the ultimate currency and destination for everyone.
He passionately lobbied for the inclusion of happiness as a required subject in school curricula, alongside subjects such as mathematics and geography.
During the conversation, the former governor said that his wife threatened to divorce him before he entered politics.
The former governor and current Chairman of National Oil Corporation stated that he was too involved in his political future to ignore his wife’s ultimatum.
“I surprised my wife by telling her I was going into politics.” So she told a few friends, but then she came with me. She reluctantly joined the campaign in Meru with me. But, as you know, she was a teacher, so she was better at dealing with the public than I was. She was quite helpful.”
Ex-Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi Opens Up About Personal Struggle: Confronting Depression
