William Odongo Omamo (27 March 1928 in Bondo,

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

– 27 April 2010) was a Kenyan politician. He was a minister for Agriculture, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources and a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the

Bondo Constituency Bondo Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of six constituencies in Siaya County Siaya County is one of the Counties of Kenya, counties in the former Nyanza Province in the Western part of Kenya. It is bordered by Busi ...

and

Muhoroni Constituency Muhoroni is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of seven constituencies of Kisumu County. The constituency was established for the 1988 elections, when it was split from the Nyando Constituency.Nyando ConstituencyAbout Nyando Constituenc ...

. Omamo had two wives, Joyce Acholla and Anne Audia, and 16 children. One of the most prominent is

Raychelle Omamo Raychelle Awour Omamo (born July 1962) is a Kenyan lawyer and politician and an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Background and education Omamo studied law at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. She is a Senior Counsel and an Advoca ...

, a former

Law Society of Kenya The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) is an organization mandated to advise and assist members of thlegal profession the government and the larger public in all matters relating to the Department of Justice (Kenya), administration of justice in Kenya. I ...

chairperson and former ambassador to France who was selected as Cabinet Secretary of Defence in April 2013. Omamo was also a large-scale farmer in Bondo and Muhoroni. He farmed many different crops, but was most noted for operating the largest privately owned sugar plantation in Kenya. After Kenya gained independence he became the first African principal of Egerton College, which has since become a university.

Early life

Omamo was born on 27 March 1928, in Bondo (then ruled as part of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

) in a family of eight children, two boys and six girls. His father married eight other women and had scores of children. He went to Maranda Sector School, five kilometres from his home, in 1936. He once described his first day in school as follows: "I was half naked, with only a goat skin strip to cover the private parts and buttocks." By the time Omamo finished secondary school at Maseno College, he had developed a passion for agriculture. He then received a scholarship to study in India in 1951. He graduated from the Punjab Agricultural College in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He also earned a Doctorate, and studied at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Political career

Omamo's career in politics began in 1969 and he successfully vied for the Bondo seat. It was previously

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Luo (Kenya), Luo chieftain who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He later served as Kenya's first Vice-President of Kenya, Vice-President, and t ...

’s, but after falling out with the administration in place he was detained just before the elections. Omamo's political career spanned almost four decades and saw him represent the Bondo and Muhoroni constituencies in Kenya. Starting on 10 August 1982, he was Minister for Environment and Natural Resources. Omamo also served as Minister for; Agriculture and Livestock development and Science and Technology. Omamo and Odinga partook in a political rivalry that would last for years. They vied for the support of the people of Bondo, and to a lesser extent Muhoroni. Omamo's last public post came when former President Moi appointed him to chair a commission in the late 1980s.

Death and legacy

After falling ill in the mid 2000s, Omamo died from a long standing illness at the age of 82 on 27 April 2010. His funeral was attended by family and friends, which included

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

Kalonzo Musyoka Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka (born 24 December 195is a Kenyan politician who was the tenth Vice-President of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Musyoka served in the government under the late President Daniel arap Moi and was List of Foreign Ministers of Ke ...

, and

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

, the then prime minister, vice president and president respectively. He was buried at his estate in Utonga Bay at Nyambarimba house, just outside Bondo. Omamo is remembered as one of Kenya's most illustrious politicians, as well as for his bulky frame and sense of humour. His family included two wives, 16 children and many grandchildren, a number of which are professionals in law and medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omamo, Odongo Kenyan politicians 1928 births 2010 deaths