Joseph Magutt

Joseph Magutt “Magoott” is a prominent political scientist and prolific political commentator/analyst in Kenya. He is a reader, a university lecturer and a motivational speaker. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses as adjunct lecturer at the United States International University, Moi University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Egerton University. He is highly acclaimed and respected by students he has taught because of his meticulosity, methodicalness, profundity and mastery of delivery. He is equally respected and rated highly by his peers. Mistakenly or rightly, Mr. Magutt is sometimes thought to be overly aggressive, grandiose and a la-di-dah of temperament and spoken. He currently works at Kenyatta University on teaching and administrative capacity.

Media and Professional Engagements

Magutt analyzes local and international issues in the province of politics, conflict and international relations. He frequently proffers political analysis for leading media houses - local and international, among them: Voice of America (VOA), ( listen to online audio clips in an interview with VOA’s reporter Peter Clottey – Joseph Magoott a Nairobi political analyst), Kenya Television Network(KTN), Nation Television (NTV), Classic FM, Kiss FM, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC)TV/Radio, Kass FM etc. His peers in political commentary in Kenya include Prof. Peter Wanyande and Mutahi Ngunyi. Magutt also writes on local and international political and topical issues. His articles frequently feature in mainstream newspapers and Magazines in Kenya. These include: Daily Nation, The Standard, Kenya Times, The People, and the management magazine. His recent article in the Daily Nation with the title “America could be the main loser in the Diplomatic Spat” (with Kenya), stirred a lot of controversy.

Role in Kenya’s Politics and Leadership

Magutt is known within Kenya’s high political circles and advises leading political figures on political fronts. He was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement- Party of Kenya (ODM) campaign team in 2007 and contributed in strategy and writing of the party manifesto . ODM however lost to Party of National Unity (PNU) in controversial circumstances that led to a civil war until the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan under the auspices of the African Union and the EU mediated the formation of government of national unity. He is also the founder of the Big Ideas International, a think-and-do tank in Nairobi.

In 2002 Joseph Magutt was nationally nominated KTN’s person of the year under forty, in what was billed “TOP 40 UNDER 40”. This was a national survey of young people who have played significant national role and have distinguished themselves in leadership and influenced the lives of many positively. The nominees were voted by the public nationally.

Penchant for quotes and Debating Prowess

Magutt has a penchant for quotes which he often deploys in his motivational speeches and in political commentary. Some of his favorite quotes are: “Be something – don’t just be part of the landscape” and “Don’t hang onto the status quo long after the quo has lost its status”. His knowledge of Greek classics and his powerful spoken english which is unmistakably tinged with American accent lends to his exceptional debating skills and rhetorical/oratorical skills. Astute, articulate, and ambitious, Magutt is said to be eyeing a parliamentary seat in Kenya’s 2012 general election.

External links

• Is a break-up of NARC now innevitable - Daily Nation
• Move the capital city to a more central location -Daily Nation
• America could be the main loser in the diplomatic spat Daily Nation
• Reforms in Foreign Service long overdue
• Move the capital city to a more central location
• Move the Capital City to a More Central Location>