Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen (born 12 March 1979) is a Kenyan lawyer. He is the Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public works in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He served as the senator for

Elgeyo-Marakwet County Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 counties. Elgeyo Marakwet County is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, s ...

from 2013 to 2022.

Early life

He is the son of Johana Murkomen Kanda and Mama Margaret. Murkomen studied at Chawis Primary School in Embobut Forest, Marakwet East until 1993 when he sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam. He was not satisfied and decided to retake the exam in 1994. He later joined St Joseph’s High School

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

and transferred to St Patrick's High School

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya. Iten serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. ...

, where he sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam. In the year 2000 Murkomen joined the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

(UoN), Parkland Campus for a Bachelor of Law and graduated with a degree of bachelor of laws (

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

) in 2004. While studying, he was elected chairman of Fellowship of Christian Unions’ National Students Executive Council. He was later awarded a scholarship to study a master’s in law at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He further studied at the

American University Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of no ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Political career

Murkomen was first elected as Senator for

in 2013 on a United Republican Party ( URP) ticket.He vied for the same seat during the

2017 elections The following elections occurred in 2017. Africa * 2017 Somali presidential election 8 February 2017 *2017 Gambian parliamentary election 6 April 2017 * 2017 Algerian legislative election 4 May 2017 *2017 Lesotho general election 3 June 2017 *2 ...

, this time on a

Jubilee party The Jubilee Party of Kenya was the ruling political party of the Republic of Kenya from 2016 until 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee ...

ticket and was re-elected to a second term. Murkomen was elected majority senate leader in 2013, but he was later replaced by West Pokot Senator Samuel Poghisio as the Senate Majority Leader. in 2020. Before his nomination as a cabinet minister, Murkomen had been elected for the third time to be the senator for

Elgeyo Marakwet County Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 counties. Elgeyo Marakwet County is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, ...

in the 2022 general elections in a UDA party ticket. Murkomen won the seat with a 141,091 votes against his competitor former Elgeyo Marakwet Governor

Alex Tolgos Alex Tolgos is a Kenyan engineer and politician who served as the governor of Elgeyo Marakwet County. He was elected the first governor of the county on March 4, 2013, and was again re-elected on August 8, 2017, to serve for a second and final ter ...

who vied under the

Jubilee Party The Jubilee Party of Kenya was the ruling political party of the Republic of Kenya from 2016 until 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee ...

and came second. He resigned as the senator in order to take the position of Cabinet Secretary.

Personal life

Murkomen is married to Gladys Wanjiru Kipchumba and is a father to three sons and a daughter.

References

1979 births Living people 21st-century Kenyan lawyers Kenya School of Law alumni University of Nairobi alumni University of Pretoria alumni People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Members of the Senate of Kenya Jubilee Party politicians {{Kenya-politician-stub