Esther Akoth (born 8 April 1983), better known as Akothee, is a Kenyan musician and businesswoman. She is the founder of Akothee Safaris, a tour company based in Kenya, the Akothee Foundation, a charity, and Aknotela and Akothee Homes, a real estate business.

Early life and education

Akoth was born in 1983 in

Kisumu County Kisumu County is one of 47 counties in the Republic of Kenya. Its borders follow those of the original Kisumu District, one of the former administrative districts of the former Nyanza Province in western Kenya. Its headquarters is Kisumu City ...

, the daughter of an administrator father and a politician mother, and grew up in

Migori County Migori County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of southwestern Kenya. It is located in Southwestern Kenya and borders Homa Bay County (North), Kisii County (North E), Narok (South East), Tanzania (West and South) and Lake Victoria to th ...

. She attended Nyabisawa Girls Secondary School, but dropped out at 14 to elope with her husband.

Music career

Akoth's music career started in 2008. Since then, she has released solo tracks as well as collaborations with other artists including

Diamond Platnumz Nasibu Abdul Juma Issack (born 2 October 1989), popularly known by his stage name Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and a businessman of Ha heritage. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi R ...

. Her released tracks include "Oyoyo" featuring MC Galaxy, "Give It To Me" featuring Flavour, "Sweet Love" featuring

, "Benefactor", "Yuko Moyoni", "New Dance" featuring Oc, "Osilliation", "Nimechoka", "Pashe", "Katika", "Djele Djele", "Shengerera", "Mama Bougerie", and "Tucheze". In March 2020, Akoth released "Mwitu asa", a song written and sang in the

Kamba Kamba may refer to: *Kamba people of Kenya *Bena-Kamba, a community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo *Khampa, also spelled Kamba, Tibetan people of Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in ...

language.

Awards

She has won several awards, including "Best Female Artist (East Africa)" at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2016 and 2019, "Best Video" at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2016, and "Best Female Artist" at the

African Entertainment Awards USA The African Entertainment Awards USA (also referred to as AEAUSA), an annual event consisting of mostly music awards. History The event is composed of 30 categories (22 music & 8 non-music) and the 1st edition of the African Entertainment Awards ...

. Akoth has over one million followers on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, and is currently the 11th most followed East African celebrity.

Business career

Akoth founded Akothee Safaris, a tour and travel company based in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows throug ...

, and appointed her daughter as director of the company. She also founded a charity called the Akothee Foundation, and manages a real-estate company, Aknotela and Akothee Homes.

Personal life

Akoth has five children, three daughters and two boys. She owns houses in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, and Zurich.

References

{{Reflist Living people 1983 births 20th-century Kenyan women singers