38 Facts About Nicholas Biwott

Nicholas Kipyator Kiprono arap Biwott was a Kenyan businessman, politician, and philanthropist, who worked in the governments of the fathers of Kenyan independence, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi.

Nicholas Biwott held eight senior civil servant and ministerial positions that included Minister of State, Minister of Energy, Minister of East African and Regional Co-operation and Minister of Regional Development, Science, and Technology.

Nicholas Biwott was at the forefront of efforts to deepen regional cooperation.

Nicholas Biwott was born in Tot, Chebior village, Keiyo District, Elgeyo Marakwet County earlier the Rift Valley Province, Kenya, on 22 February 1940 to Maria Soti and Joseph Cheserem Soti, a market trader and cattle herder in Eldoret.

Nicholas Biwott attended Tambach Intermediate School from 1951 to 1954, after which he joined Kapsabet High School.

Nicholas Biwott attended the University of Melbourne, Australia, from 1962 to 1964, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science, as well as a Diploma in Public Administration.

Nicholas Biwott then served as a District Officer in Nkubu in the South Imenti Division of Meru District from 1964 to 1965, returning to the University of Melbourne in 1966 to study for a master's degree in Economics under a Commonwealth scholarship.

Nicholas Biwott was the only Member of Parliament who abstained on the Constitutional Referendum held in 2005, stating that the Draft Constitution 'would divide the country along ethnic lines'.

In 2005, Nicholas Biwott contested for the leadership of the Kenya African National Union, the former ruling party founded by the late Mzee Kenyatta, but lost the post to Uhuru Kenyatta following a decision by the Kenyan High Court.

Nicholas Biwott entered government service in 1965 as the District Officer, in South Imenti and Tharaka, Meru District.

Nicholas Biwott coordinated cereal production, the marketing of cereal crops and the management of the Ministry's fertiliser policy, and helped develop research into new strains of wheat and maize more suited to the growing conditions in Kenya.

Nicholas Biwott played a similar co-ordinating role for the Ministry's work with the East African Council of Ministers, guiding Kenya's policy in the region in the development of ports, railways and the East African Airways.

In 1971 Nicholas Biwott moved to the Treasury as Senior Secretary under the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mwai Kibaki.

In late 1978, Nicholas Biwott transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs on the personal recommendation of President Kenyatta to work with his vice-president and the Minister of Home Affairs, Daniel arap Moi.

In 1974, Nicholas Biwott stood as a candidate for the Keiyo South constituency in the general election of that year but was narrowly defeated.

Kenyatta's death in 1978 saw Daniel arap Moi elevated to the presidency and Nicholas Biwott promoted to Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President.

In September 1983, Nicholas Biwott was made Minister of Energy and Regional Development and in March 1988 he became Minister of Energy, a post he held until January 1991.

Nicholas Biwott was variously described as "the hardest working minister of tourism Kenya has ever had" and as "the best minister of tourism in 25 years".

In May 2001, Nicholas Biwott continued as the Minister of Trade and Industry and East African Tourism.

Nicholas Biwott led an active business life and was regarded as one of Kenya's most successful entrepreneurs.

The young Nicholas Biwott borrowed small amounts of money from a local bank with which to expand his own business sideline selling meat products and eggs.

Nicholas Biwott continued to expand his own business and in the late 1960s formed ABC Foods selling food and animal feed products.

In 1969, aged 29, Nicholas Biwott purchased the Eldoret Town International Harvester dealership.

Nicholas Biwott purchased a dairy farm in the same year, started an importer exporter business in 1972, purchased two wheat farms in 1974, invested in the sole agency for IH in Kenya for agricultural tractors and implements in 1975, and purchased a local air operator in 1977.

Nicholas Biwott is regarded as one of Kenya's wealthiest businessmen.

Mr Nicholas Biwott supported a number of projects in the areas of education, health and medicine, and assisting small businesses.

Nicholas Biwott took a personal and active role in the development of education in Kenya, particularly the education of girls, through the building of numerous schools.

Nicholas Biwott played an active role in raising funds for the building of many other colleges and educational projects, and was the founder and patron of the Keiyo South Education Foundation that provides bursaries to needy students for primary and secondary education.

Nicholas Biwott led the development of multiple health and medical service projects, including at least two sub-district hospitals, three health centres and eight dispensaries.

Nicholas Biwott's supporters maintain that the allegations, none of which have ever been proved, arose from the campaign at the time to introduce multi-party democracy in Kenya coupled with Biwott's association with President Moi.

The most serious of the allegations surrounding Nicholas Biwott is the fact of his being named as a person of interest by Scotland Yard detective John Troon in his final report on the 1990 murder of Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko.

Ten government officials, including Nicholas Biwott, were held in police custody for questioning for two weeks in November 1991, but a Kenyan Police investigation concluded that there was no 'evidence to support the allegations that Nicholas Biwott was involved in the disappearance and subsequent death of the late minister Dr Robert John Ouko'.

In December 2003, Nicholas Biwott issued a formal complaint against New Scotland Yard through his lawyer on the basis that Troon's investigation was 'fundamentally flawed and, in many cases erroneous' and called on New Scotland Yard 'to investigate Troon and to issue an apology.

The Select Committee's proceedings were abruptly terminated as Nicholas Biwott began to give his testimony.

Nicholas Biwott was awarded the Sh30 million damages after he sued a British journalist, Chester Stern, and others for linking him to the Ouko murder in a book entitled 'Dr Iain West's Casebook'.

Nicholas Biwott's case is said to have contributed to the development of defamation law in Kenya.

Nicholas Biwott's case was referenced in 2005 in a defamation and libel case filed by former Chief Justice Evans Gicheru.

Nicholas Biwott was buried in a wooden casket contrary to some misleading information that circulated in the Kenyan social media space prior to his burial, alleging that he would be buried in a gold coffin.