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CS Murkomen speaks on dropping out of Ph.D. course twice

Roads and Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen during the 23th graduation ceremony  at Masinde Muliro University in Kakamega
Roads and Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen during the 23th graduation ceremony at Masinde Muliro University in Kakamega

A Ph.D. is the highest level of academic achievement and typically involves advanced research and the completion of a doctoral dissertation.

While speaking during a graduation ceremony at Masinde Muliro University on December 1, CS Murkomen told the graduates that success means many things to different people. 

He explained that some of his former classmates viewed him as successful because of his status in Kenya’s political landscape but he considered them successful for completing their Ph.D.s while he was unable to. 

“In 2008 I registered to be a Ph.D. student but I did not even go past six months. I repeated again while I was in the Senate and I did not go beyond six months. So as they admire me, I admire what they have conquered,” he spoke. 

The CS cautioned that if the graduates do not define the parameters of their own success, they will constantly compare themselves with other people, which could lead to depression and other mental health issues. 

He also warned that money should not be viewed as the only definition of success, adding that good relationships and good health are just as important. 

READ: Murkomen lists wheelbarrow in his Sh550 million estate

“Every other term, there are two, three, four or five Members of Parliament who are saved from committing suicide. They have a good salary and good offices.

“You know CEOs and big people who in your own eyes, you see they are successful, but they are not. Define your parameters of success. Define what God has called you to do and live by those parameters,” CS Murkomen advised. 

He told the graduates that they should take the opportunities they get seriously and make a living by striving to be better than those currently employed. 

He gave an example of an intern in his ministry who will be retained after his intervention because she showed a lot of promise by working harder than her senior colleagues.  

READ: CS Murkomen oozes style with his Sh2M watch & Sh150K pens [Photos]

“I was in the office the other day and I was told that one of the ladies who works in the office is an intern. I asked how an intern can be better than those who are already employed in this ministry.

"I told the officers who work under us to make sure they find a way of retaining her in the ministry because if her diligence and hard work,” CS Murkomen said. 

Kipchumba Murkomen’s academic qualifications

  • Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
  • Master of Laws (LLM) – 2007 American University’s Washington College of Law, Washington DC, USA.
  • Master of Laws (LLM) – 2006 University of Pretoria, Pretoria South Africa.
  • Diploma in Law, 2006 Kenya School of Law.
  • Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), 2004.

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