Musa Misiani is not a stranger to success. At 34, he became the chief operations officer of Jubilee Health Insurance. Sixteen years earlier, he was the best student in the Rift Valley in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination he wrote at St. Joseph’s Boys, Kitale.
“If you value hard work, honest work, and constant diligence, you have the three most important precursors of success. I was taught this at St Joseph’s.”
While at St Joseph’s, he learned to dream. “Growing up in abject poverty can deny you a broad vision and a chance to dream big. This school opened my eyes to a world of possibilities.” He credits his success to five key people who have held his hands along the journey.
“My mother took me to church as a young boy; this not only planted my feet firmly in the ground but also raised a strong Adventist in me. My former principal, the late Peter Obuogo, pushed me to want more. My wife has played a key role in encouraging me to chase my dreams. Professionally, I have been built by two people: Rukwaro Mathenge, who taught me how to be an executive, and Njeri Njomo, my current CEO, who has taught me to hear things. To do this with great passion.”
"If you value hard work, honest work, and constant diligence, you have the three most important precursors of success."
Dr Misiani calls himself an operator, not much because of his current professional title, but because, at heart, he is a doctor—a specialist anatomist. He views many things in life through the glass of an anatomist.
“On the operating table, you have to exercise great caution; precision is ‘uncompromisable’. You assume the role of a great artist undertaking a delicate project.”
He believes that God is always pulling strings, and as such, he has centred his life on God. “I believe in working out my faith in my work and my life.”
He is an elder at Lavington SDA Church and a low-key musician with a strong bias for hymns. “After a long day, I like to play the piano in the house. Playing the keys calms me in a way. It is also a time to lead my small family in a time of worship.”
Like the biblical Moses, Dr Misiani holds his staff high above his head. He is on a path to heal and treat, not in the strict medical sense, but in strengthening health systems. “Health financing is still a challenge in Kenya. I realised this while working as a clinical scientist on Covid-19. As a player in health financing, I come to work to rally my team to streamline processes so that our clients — the patients — can receive quality healthcare in record time.”
Had he not made it to the University of Nairobi to pursue medicine, Dr Misiani would have been a farmer back in Trans-Nzoia or a musician—yes, with a strong bias for hymns.
For the immediate and distant future, he is building impact, and has taken a bold step to mentor younger doctors on what it takes to make it to the top.
-Ndugu Abisai