Nderitu: I got here through hard work and prayer, not deep state

Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu has dismissed claims that she is part of a so-called deep state, saying her rise to public service has been driven by hard work, discipline and faith.

Appearing before the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Nderitu said she applied for the IEBC commissioner job like any other Kenyan and went through the required process.

“Of course, I’m a Christian. I pray. When there’s any helping hand, God has been involved,” she said.

Responding to questions from the committee about whether she had a “helping hand” in her career path, Nderitu said her only support has been her effort and belief in God.

“The helping hand can only be described in two ways. Number one, my hard work, because I’m usually focused. I want to do the right thing. I work hard. I work beyond my time,” she told MPs.

She said that her work ethic often makes her go beyond assigned duties and that this has always been her approach to public service.

“That has been my philosophy—the philosophy of excellence. And if you work hard as a young person around people who want excellence, automatically somebody will pick you up and see there’s a person who means well and has the capacity and ability,” Nderitu said.

When asked how she came to be nominated for the IEBC position, Nderitu said, “I think the jobs were open for application, and I applied, just like Kenyans in their country. I went through a process, and here I am.”

If approved, Nderitu will transition from a key political oversight role into the electoral management body, bringing with her a wealth of experience in administration, education and electoral operations.

Her career

A seasoned public administrator from Nyandarua County, Njeri boasts 23 years of leadership and administrative experience. She was appointed Registrar of Political Parties in 2020 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta following a competitive recruitment process and parliamentary vetting.

Before heading the ORPP, she held several leadership roles at the IEBC, including Director of Voter Education and Partnerships, Head of Electoral Training, and Manager of Partnerships. She is credited with designing and overseeing large-scale electoral training programmes, civic education initiatives, and stakeholder engagement frameworks.

“In a single electoral cycle, my department trained over 750,000 trainees in a cascaded approach,” Nderitu said, reflecting on her time at the electoral commission.

Her background in education is equally robust. Nderitu served as a District Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (DQASO) in Kiambu West between 2006 and 2008, later rising to become the District Education Officer (DEO) in Mbooni East, Makueni, where she was in charge of education management across the district.

A teacher by training, she earned a Bachelor of Education in English and Literature from Moi University in 1995, followed by a Master of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Nairobi in 2007.

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She later attained a Diploma in Public Administration from the Galilee Institute of Management in Israel in 2018.

“Holding a diploma in ECD gave me the opportunity to train thousands of teachers at certificate and diploma levels in addition to establishing centres of excellence where the teacher trainees went to benchmark, especially in preparation of teaching aids and conduct of outdoor activities,” she says in her LinkedIn profile.

Nderitu has kept her personal life private, with little known publicly about her family. Her income largely stems from her official salary and allowances as a state officer, a role that comes with significant perks.

The Selection Panel for the IEBC shortlisted Nderitu among 105 applicants, citing her extensive experience in both political and electoral systems.