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Kenyan son who runs the affairs of a Canadian town

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Published on Tuesday, 22 July 2008 20:38

The blocks of buildings and tarmac roads in Mission, a town in the western Canadian province of British Columbia where James Atebe is mayor contrast sharply with the hilly terrain, dirt roads and footpaths cutting through tea farms in Ekerenyo village in North Mugirango where he grew up.

James Atebe (seated right and inset) with his wife Valerie (second left) and children. Photos/ FAMILY ALBUM

It took many days of hard work to convince voters that although he was not a native son, he did have what it takes to be their mayor. He ended up defeating the three other candidates and garnered 67 per cent of the vote.

Community service

The first-born in a family of nine children, Mr Atebe attributes his success to his record in community service and to some extent, to his father Mr Livingstone Atebe Marita, who was a Member of Parliament in Kenya.

Before running for political office, Mr Atebe had been a long-time volunteer in numerous programmes in Mission where he settled in 1992 after completing his studies in the United States. Speaking to the Sunday Nation by telephone from Mission, the mayor admitted that some of his campaign methods were rather unconventional.

“While most of my competitors relied on brochures and roadside advertising, I went for a personal touch which provided me with the edge I needed to beat them.”

Mr Atebe said he would wave down residents on their way to and from work to tell them about his plans. Some found this strange, but his determination to serve the people of Mission did not end there.

He attended football and baseball matches and other social events and went from door to door to drum home his message. Eventually, he won the people over, first as a town councillor and then as mayor in 2005.

As a black candidate seen as an outsider in a predominantly white community, Mr Atebe had to fend off attacks in his three political campaigns in 1999 and 2002 for councillor and 2005 for mayor.

Agenda and vision

“I have always restrained myself from launching a negative counter-attack on my competition,” he said. “Instead I develop a positive agenda and vision for my community. I believe this defines my character as a leader.”

Early on Mr Atebe developed the thick skin necessary for the rough and tumble life of politics when he served as a campaign agent for his father in North Mugirango. Instead of slowing down or giving up in the face of negative attacks, he stuck to his agenda.

Mr Atebe went to Canada after his A-levels at Homa Bay secondary school, to study for a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Calgary in 1984. He later obtained a masters degree in urban planning from the University of Washington in the United States in 1990.

Two years later he returned to Canada where he launched his political career in 1999. His life, like those of his mother, Mrs Jerusa Nyakerario, and other siblings, always had a political side.

Parliamentary politics

Their father started out in local and provincial elections before graduating to parliamentary politics in 1969. He served as an assistant minister under both presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. “We interacted with politics from a very early age through our father. He relished serving others, an art whose importance in life we learnt and mastered,” said Elijah Atebe, the mayor’s younger brother.

So what was Mr Atebe offering voters in Mission? “Change,” he said.

When he was elected mayor, Mission was a bedroom community where residents spent the night after working and shopping in other towns. Under his watch, Mr Atebe said, Mission has become a complete community where residents can find employment, recreation and rest.

By planning

He has done this by planning and expanding industrial and commercial developments, which in turn have increased the town’s tax base. He says he has changed Mission into a vibrant community.

The change came about, he says, not only through hard work but also through long-term planning, a skill he learnt from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in their college years at the University of Calgarywhere they were roommates.

“Mr Harper came across as an individual with an excellent work ethic. He set goals and worked extremely hard to achieve them. These are qualities I admired and hope to show as well,” he recalled.

His wife Valerie Lenore Atebe and their five children have been his greatest supporters.