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Member of Parliament, Dagoretti South
Born
1978(48 yrs)
Region
Nairobi
Constituency
Dagoretti South
Public Views
Experience
Documented career positions
John Kiarie Waweru, popularly known as “KJ”, is a Kenyan politician, comedian and communications professional who has served as Member of Parliament for Dagoretti South Constituency in Nairobi County since 2017, winning re-election in 2022 on a UDA ticket. Before entering politics he was nationally famous as a co-founder and star of the political-satire troupe Redykyulass, where his impersonations of President Mwai Kibaki and other leaders helped define Kenya’s late-1990s and early-2000s comedy landscape and brought a new generation of youth into civic conversation through humour. In Parliament, Kiarie has become a visible voice on technology, youth and governance. He has served on the Justice and Legal Affairs, Procedure & House Rules and Liaison Committees, and in the 13th Parliament he was elected Chairperson of the National Assembly’s Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, placing him at the centre of ICT policy, data protection and digital-economy oversight. Beyond the House, he is deeply involved in the scouting movement, having risen from leading Kenya’s Scout Parliamentary Caucus to serving as Global Vice-President and, in 2025, Global President of the World Scouts Parliamentary Union, using the platform to champion youth leadership and civic values.
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Pioneer of modern Kenyan political satire: As a co-founder of Redykyulass in the late 1990s, helped revolutionise political comedy, with the troupe widely described as one of Kenya’s most influential comedy acts for its fearless impersonations of Moi, Kibaki and other leaders.
Two-term MP for Dagoretti South: Won the Dagoretti South seat in 2017 after defeating the incumbent in Jubilee primaries, and successfully defended it in 2022 under UDA, cementing his transition from satirist to mainstream legislator.
Covid-19 quarantine figures post (2020): In March 2020 he was questioned by police after posting on social media that about 7,000 Kenyans were in Covid-19 quarantine, figures disputed by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe as false; he was grilled by DCI officers over allegedly alarmist claims about case numbers.
Finance Bill 2024 / Gen-Z protests remarks (June 2024): During debates on the Finance Bill 2024 and the #OccupyParliament/#RejectFinanceBill protests, he publicly claimed that some widely shared protest photos were fake, edited or downloaded from the internet, prompting heavy backlash, censure by media and civil-society groups, and a formal public apology days later in which he called his remarks “misguided, insensitive and unnecessary.”
Chair, Communication, Information & Innovation Committee: As chair of the ICT committee, he has led parliamentary engagement on issues such as mobile termination rates, broadband access, data protection and digital-economy regulation.
Global leadership in the scouting movement: Elevated in 2025 from Kenya chapter leader to Global President of the World Scouts Parliamentary Union, giving him an international platform to push for youth empowerment, peace and civic engagement.
Heckling and hostility at public events: Following the Gen-Z protests saga, several outlets reported instances where he was heckled or chased away at public gatherings and funerals by sections of the crowd angry at his stance on the protests and perceived alignment with the government.
Ongoing debate over shift from critic to establishment defender: Long-form profiles note the contrast between the young satirist who once lampooned authority and the current pro-government UDA MP, with critics arguing he has abandoned his earlier reformist posture; supporters counter that his evolution reflects a move from satire to “working within the system.”
