Peninah Malonza

Peninah Malonza, OGW (born 7 March 1974), is a Kenyan politician who served as the cabinet secretary for Ministry of EAC, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development, in the Cabinet of Kenya, and ex officio member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) effective 5 October 2023 to July 11, 2024. She was dismissed from the cabinet in July 2024. Prior to this appointment, from 27 September 2022 until 4 October 2023, she served as the cabinet secretary for tourism, wildlife and heritage, the president of the 13th Governing Council of the Parties to Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) on Cooperative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora as well as the vice chairperson of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Africa (CAF).

She served as the first deputy governor of Kitui County, between 2013 and 2017, where as a member of the county executive management team, she managed and coordinated the implementation of both county and national government legislation. She undertook a course in economic recovery models at Kyungwon University, in South Korea. Later, she undertook a course in community leadership, at the Global University, in the United States. Malonza has a diploma in psychological counseling and is a member of the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors.

In 2022, she unsuccessfully contested for the women’s representative seat in Kitui County. She was nominated as the cabinet secretary tourism, wildlife, and heritage by President Ruto.