Kericho Governor Erick Mutai, a former university lecturer who rose from an underdog to secure office in 2022, has faced a series of high-stakes impeachment battles, with the latest culminating in a Senate vote that saved him from removal. Mutai hails from Rungut village in Bureti, where he attended Rugut Primary School before proceeding to Litein High School from 1997 to 2001. He pursued higher education at Maseno University, studying Education (English & Literature), and later earned a Master’s degree in Literature & Communication from the University of Kabianga in 2014. He also states he completed a doctorate in 2017 at Laikipia University.

Before venturing into politics, Mutai trained as a teacher and briefly taught at Kapkarin Secondary School from 2009 to 2011 under a Board of Management contract. To fund his postgraduate studies, he juggled various small businesses, including operating a boda-boda, running a small eatery, and engaging in mitumba (second-hand clothes) trade. He later joined the University of Embu as a lecturer, a position he resigned from to contest the gubernatorial seat in 2022.

Mutai announced his bid for Kericho governor in 2020, running a low-budget, village-to-village campaign. He adopted the