This man Ken Okoth: Everything you need to know about him

Kenneth Okoth was raised in the Kibera slums of Nairobi in a family of six children and a single mother.

He attended Olympic Primary School, where he scored 617 marks out of the possible 700 in KCPE. He, thereafter, joined Starehe Boys’ Centre and School.

Ken was a scholarship student at St. Lawrence University in New York, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing, German, and European Studies in 2001.

In 2005, Ken earned his Master of Arts Degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington DC where he deepened his understanding of diplomacy and international relations.

Devoted to issues of empowerment for children, youth, and women, Ken was a teacher, coach, mentor, director, and professor at various institutions including the Potomac School, Georgetown University, the University of Dar es Salaam, and the Children of Kibera Foundation.

Ken served as a trustee of his alma mater St Lawrence University from 2006 to 2010.

Ken enjoyed music and loved to travel and learn foreign languages in his free time.

He took part in academic exchanges and study tours to Canada, China, India, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Estonia and Russia.

In March 2013, Ken was elected to represent the people of Kibra Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya where he served as a member of the Committee on Education Science Research and Technology.

Ken was also a founding member of the Kenya Parliamentary Human Rights Association, a bi-partisan caucus of likeminded legislators committed to promoting a rights based society in Kenya through representation, legislation, and oversight.

Ken Okoth undeniably won the hearts of Kenyan voters, with his development record in Kibra Constituency, seeing him overcome swelling pressure to win a second term in office.

Mbagathi High School, which he launched on February 16, 2018, is one of the iconic development projects the Late Okoth leaves behind.

“Education transforms and empowers. As part of my commitment to increasing access and enhancing quality of education in Kibra; I am delighted to announce that Mbagathi Girls High School is admitting girls for Form One, Form Two, and Form Three,” the MP said at the time.

Okoth was also known to be a staunch defender of Kenyans’ rights in Parliament.

Okoth did not vote for the controversial VAT bill, a decision he said, he arrived at while “sober mind and with no apologies to make”.

“I wonder how many of these legislators who voted in favour of the VAT bill ever used nyangile (kerosene tin lamp) to make their studies during their primary school times,” he said.

(Additional information from Kenya Parliamentary Human Rights Association)