Atebe is a native of Ekerenyo, a village in the North Mugirango Constituency of Kenya, and grew up with four brothers and four sisters.

He received a master's degree in city planning from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Atebe was re-elected in 2008 over Matt Johnson, his opponent, who received less than 20 percent of the vote[1] after almost being acclaimed as mayor of Mission.

[3] However, in the 2011 municipal election, Atebe was defeated by opponent Ted Adlem, who captured 50 percent of the vote.

[4] Atebe was a roommate of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper in Calgary.