Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority

Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority

NANCY KARIGITHU is the Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA). She has consulted for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and is the first person from the East and Southern Africa to sit on the board of the World Maritime University in Sweden. She spoke EUGENE OMILO about her exciting career and life

My years in high school can explain why I have always been at the centre of a male dominated industry. My school, Kamuiru Secondary School in Kirinyaga, was being changed from a mixed to a boys’-only school. I happened to be in the class with the last batch of girls.

My role model then was lawyer Effie Majisu (later on Effie Owuor), who was one of the leading lights in my home district. Martha Karua too was one of the people who inspired me to pursue a career in law at the University of Nairobi.

Nancy with her husband Charles and their sons. [Photo: maxwell agwanda/ standard]

My first job was as a legal assistant at Kiambo & Company Advocates in Mombasa. Later I worked at the Attorney General’s chambers in Mombasa as a State Counsel for three years. When my contract expired in 1990, I joined KENYA Ports Authority as a senior legal officer.

My appointment at KPA was a turning point in my life. It is here that I was introduced to the maritime industry. Ever since I learnt to make a paper boat as a little girl in Standard Two, I had developed a fascination with marine life. After that, I always wanted to visit and probably work at the Coast. 

I was an in-house lawyer delivering legal service to the ports authority and its subsidiaries and rose to the rank of acting Assistant Corporation Secretary. During this time I studied for a Master’s degree in Maritime Law at the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta, Italy.

Private practice

In 1995, I resigned from KPA to venture into private practice. I established Karigithu & Company Advocates.

Leaving KPA to start building a reputation of my own was a challenge. When you work with a successful organisation, people view you with awe and tend to respect you more than when you are on your own.

My family supported me through it all and the company gained its feet.

When the decision to move back to public service came in 2005, I had a confidence crisis. I was convinced my departure would see my legal firm crumble. The financial prospects too disturbed me as I was doing a lot of consultancy on maritime issues, assisting several African countries set up maritime administrations as a partner at South Africa based Burport Maritime Consultancy, and the returns were irresistible. But there are some experiences that money alone cannot buy.

Looking back, I can say taking over as Director General at KMA and being part of the effort that put our maritime industry in a position where it can get international recognition has been worth the sacrifice.

I was humbled last year when Kenya eventually got into IMO’s White List. Former KPA Managing Director Brown Ondego recognised my effort and told me I had achieved a fete that had been elusive to him in six years.

When I took up my current post at KMA, the regulatory function in the industry was done by KPA yet their core business was not focused on regulation. We were not at par with technological advancements in the industry and with various IMO conventions. I am glad we have come from far.

One of my lowest moments was when we were doing the Merchant Shipping Bill. I used to constantly travel back and forth from Mombasa to Nairobi and sometimes things did not work out well. The Bill had lapsed many times with the effect being many setbacks in the industry. However it was successfully passed into an Act.

I am inspired by Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I am stubborn to a cause, almost tenacious. If I have a problem, I will stop at nothing to have it fixed. But if I realise I am beaten, I do eat humble pie.

I am not a party animal; I value privacy. If you ask me, the best way to spend my quality time is to be at home with my family. There isn’t enough time for that, though.

Simplicity

I am a conservative dresser. My colours are black, grey and navy blue. I remember showing up to work in a flowery dress when I got my first job and my employer was mad at me. Today, my wardrobe is practical and I wear my clothes for a long time.

My mother used to say that if there was an urgent errand, I should be the person to carry it out since I never took a lot of time to dress up. You won’t find me wasting a lot of time in front of a mirror applying makeup. There is no much time for that.  Not that I am rough, though.

My hairdo too is simple and realistic. I can’t sit for three hours in a salon to have my hair done; I’d rather spend the time with my family.

I eat simply. I like traditional vegetables and African dishes. Occasionally, I step out and try something different with my family. Mostly, we try out Chinese or Japanese cuisine.

You will normally see me in my kitchen on Sundays. I also try as much to teach my sons to cook.

I pray often because I believe God is central to what I do. The biggest thing I thank Him for is for the man I married. He has given me wings that enabled me to fly to where I am. Sometimes I feel he has lifted me up, just like in Mary Stevenson’s poem Footprints in the Sand.

To unwind, I go to the gym or try out aerobics, jogging or swimming. I am not very consistent with my exercising routine, though.

I am also into reading. When I land into a good book, I have to control myself not to read it the whole night. My latest discovery is Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie. I loved her books Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus. I also read the Bible consistently.

I am the founding chairperson of Association of Women managers in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (Womesa), and my aim is to encourage policy makers to look at women as able or better managers so that the few women who are already there do not stick out. The society should believe in the fact that women, too, have a lot to offer in nation building.

I wish to inspire the girl child to look at the maritime sector as a career of choice and explore the opportunities that it has to offer.

Womesa was officially launched on December 5, 2007 in Kenya under the auspices of the IMO’s Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector (IWMS), a programme that seeks to empower women in the male dominated maritime sector.