Kenyans who opened the way for others in various fields.
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Trailblazers: Profiles of outstanding Kenyans
1. Lupita Nyong’o: First Kenyan to bag an Oscar
Lupita Nyong'o.
In 2012, Lupita stunned the world when she was named the best supporting actress at the 84th edition of the Academy Awards (Oscars). This was due to the role the Kenyan-Mexican actress played in the film 12 Years a Slave.
With that, she became only the first Kenyan to win the award and only the second African to do so. With also a Tony Award and other accolades under her belt, Lupita is easily Kenya’s most celebrated actress.
Born in Mexico City and raised in Kenya before she went to the US for college, Lupita has played various roles in various productions since she was 14. Her debut professional role took place in Nairobi in a play by Phoenix Players. Her 2012 Oscars acceptance speech gave the world an evergreen piece of motivation: “No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.”
2. Cardinal Otunga: The first Kenyan to be an archbishop and cardinal
The late Maurice Cardinal Otunga.
Born to a tribal chief in 1923, Cardinal Maurice Michael Otunga became a priest in 1953. He then rose through the ranks and in October 1971, he was appointed the archbishop of Nairobi. Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in March 1973.
“He attended the third ordinary assembly of the World Synod of Bishops in the Vatican in 1974, the fourth assembly in 1977, and the fifth assembly in 1980,” says the Dictionary of African Christian Biography. He took part in the processes of electing Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Otunga died in 2003 and the process of making him a saint is ongoing.
3. Charity Ngilu: Storming the presidential candidacy
Charity Kaluki Ngilu.
1997 was an interesting year in Kenyan politics because for the first time since independence, two women met all the requirements and were on the ballot. Those were Charity Kaluki Ngilu, she of the “Masaa ya Ngilu” fame, and Prof Wangari Maathai. She was one of the 14 politicians challenging the then president Daniel arap Moi.
Through her Social Democratic Party, Ms Ngilu was quite a force in the election, garnering 488,600 votes, which was 7.89 percent of the total votes cast and which placed her fifth behind Mr Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and Kijana Wamalwa in that order. Ms Ngilu was elected the Kitui governor in 2017, also setting history alongside Joyce Laboso and Anne Waiguru as the first women to be elected governors under Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. Dr Laboso, who died in 2019, was governor of Bomet while Anne Waiguru is currently the Kirinyaga Governor and still doubles up as chairperson of the Council of Governors. In the 2022 General Election, more women were elected as governors. These are Wavinya Ndeti (Machakos), Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay), Susan Kihika (Nakuru), Kawira Mwangaza (Meru), Cecily Mbarire (Embu), and Fatuma Achani (Kwale).
4. Collins Injera: Try-scoring maestro
He has made the second-highest number of tries ever at the World Rugby Sevens. At number one is Briton Dan Norton with 358 and at second place is Collins Injera. The rugby powerhouse was the top try scorer in the IRB Sevens World Series. His greatness has been recognised by two rugby countries with a rich rugby heritage – which are Fiji and Scotland – that have inducted him into their halls of fame. Having played at Vihiga High School then later Ulinzi RFC and Mwamba RFC, Injera’s is a story of a top athlete who quickly rose to the very top. He was part of the Kenyan team that shocked the world in 2016 when it won the Singapore Sevens.
5. David Wasawo: Kenya’s first native professor
David Peter Simon Wasawo was the first native Kenyan to become a professor,
David Peter Simon Wasawo was the first native Kenyan to become a professor, a title he earned in 1959 at the University of London. Hailed as one of Kenya’s most brilliant minds, Prof Wasawo – who died in 2014 – was a scientist by profession, and he was among the very first East Africans to get a science degree. He lectured at Makerere University in the 1950s and rose to become a vice principal at the Uganda-based institution. He later joined the leadership team of the University of Nairobi and was the dean of the faculty of science until his retirement in 1971.
6. Eliud Kipchoge: Phenomenal marathoner
World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge during a past training in Berlin.
Greatest of All Time, world record holder and trailblazer. These are just a few ways to describe Eliud Kipchoge. As one of the most prolific long-distance runners, Kipchoge has truly lived up to his slogan that “no human is limited”. The current world marathon record holder (which he set in 2018, shedding an impressive 78 seconds from the existing record) is also an Olympic champion and only one of the few athletes who have managed to defend an Olympic marathon win.
His most recognised achievement was when he became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours in an unofficial race in 2019. This achievement cemented Kenya as the home of athletic champions. His glittering achievements have earned him global fame but Kipchoge has remained humble and focused drawing admiration from Kenyans and his fans across the globe.
Eliud is in the list of Kenya’s foremost winners that include Naftali Temu (Kenya’s first Olympic gold medallist), Wilson Kiprugut Chumo (first Kenyan and African to win an Olympic medal), and Pamela Jelimo (first Kenyan woman to win Olympic gold).
7. Ferdinand Omanyala: Fastest man in Africa
Ferdinand Omanyala (centre) of Kenya beats USA's Kenneth Bednarek (right) and Marvin Bracy-Williams to the finish line to win men's 100 metres race during the fourth edition of Absa Kip Keino Classic at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on May 13, 2023.
The 27-year-old has become a dominant force in the sprinting world, a discipline not always targeted by Kenya, a country that is known for its prowess in the middle- and long-distance races. He is currently the African record holder in the 100-metre race, a feat no Kenyan has held before, and the ninth fastest man of all time in the event.
He has become a force to reckon with in the continent and he is aiming to dominate the global stage as well. His career in sprinting began in 2015 while he was a student at the University of Nairobi. He has gone on to become a Commonwealth Games winner and a national champion in his discipline. Omanyala is also drawing interest into the sprints locally as he competes in the 60-metre, 100-metre and 200-metre races.
8. Gor Mahia: Only Kenyan team to ever win a continental competition
Gor Mahia fans celebrating in Nairobi after their team beat Bidco United 1-0 in the FKF Premier league at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
For all its exploits on the pitch, Kenya has never produced a team that won a Pan-African competition — except Gor Mahia. Gor Mahia pulled that feat in 1987 when it clinched the African Cup Winners’ Cup, which is today the CAF Confederation Cup. They had entered the competition after winning the Moi Golden Cup—a cup they won for three consecutive years until 1989.
9. Grace Onyango: First woman to be elected to Parliament
First woman MP in Kenya Grace Onyango.
Born in 1924 as Grace Monica Akech Onyango, Kenya’s first elected female Member of Parliament was a trailblazer in politics. She became the first female mayor of Kisumu just two years after the country gained independence. She pioneered the inclusion of women in the political space defying cultural barriers at the time. When she became MP in 1969, she had trounced 10 other men who were eyeing the seat.
While in parliament, she was also the first woman to sit in the speaker’s chair as deputy speaker. As a parliamentarian, she successfully lobbied for the abolition of bicycle tax. She also fought for gender equality in a legislature that was still very male dominated. For instance, on July 3, 1973, Ms Onyango challenged the suggestion by Hon Permenas Munyasia that married women applying for government houses must include their husbands’ names to qualify. She wanted to do away with the idea that women derive their status from men. She continued to fight for women’s rights even after losing her seat in 1984. Last year, she received the Kenya Eminent Women Trailblazers Award. She died on International Women’s Day this year (March 8).
10. John Paul Mwirigi: Kenya’s youngest elected MP
Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi.
At just 23 years, John Mwirigi found himself in Parliament after his Igembe South constituents voted for him overwhelmingly in the 2017 General Election. He was known for campaigning on his bicycle and clinching the seat despite vying on an independent ticket. He opened up the space for other young people who saw that it was possible for them to also be elected to Parliament.
The last election saw more young people vie with a number of them clinching the seats despite not splashing millions in campaigns. In the last General Election, Mr Mwirigi was re-elected through the United Democratic Alliance ticket.
11. Angella Okutoyi: First Kenyan to win a grand slam
Angella Okutoyi trains at Karen Country Club on November 10, 2022 ahead of the ITF W15 Nairobi tournament.
In 2022, an 18-year-old girl booked her place in Kenya’s history books when she conquered a junior grand slam at Wimbledon. Teaming up with the then 16-year-old Dutch player Rose Marie Nijkamp, they required well over an hour to stage a comeback win. Angella is also the first Kenyan to win a girls’ singles grand slam match at the 2022 Australian Open. At 14, she became the youngest player to win at the Kenya Open.
Raised by her grandmother because her mother died during delivery, she and her twin sister Roselinda Asumwa are intent to soar high in the world of tennis. “In addition to being our grandmother, she (grandmother) is our mother and father. I want to make her dreams come true,” Angella told Nation last year.
12. Martha Koome: First woman at the peak of the Judiciary
Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Kenya had had 14 chief justices, all men, until Lady Justice Martha Koome took up the seat in 2021. Justice Koome began her law career after graduating from the University of Nairobi in 1986. She was a council member at the Law Society of Kenya and also a treasurer at the East Africa Law Society.
At one time, she was also the chairperson of the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) Kenya, one of the most outspoken defenders of women’s rights in Kenya. She would later become a High Court judge and later a judge at the Court of Appeal, during which she was elected the chair of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association.
In 2021, she was named the Chief Justice, succeeding David Maraga. One of her key cases was the presidential petition relating to the 2022 General Election, where the Supreme Court – where she is president – unanimously upheld the election of President William Ruto.
13. McDonald Mariga: First Kenyan to become Champions League winner
Kenyan footballer McDonald Mariga.
The European Champions League is among the most competitive football tournaments in the world. In 2010, Inter Milan, an Italian football team then coached by the legendary Jose Mourinho, emerged the winners of the competition. They also won two domestic cups in Italy that season. The winner’s medal that Kenyan footballer McDonald Mariga got was historic because no Kenyan footballer had got it before. Mariga played in a squad that had players like Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneidjer, Ricardo Quaresma, Marko Arnautovic, among others. He had been signed by Inter to replace Patrick Vieira, who was departing to join Manchester City. “He played 13 games, which included the goal against Atalanta and a crucial cameo in the final minutes against Barcelona at the Camp Nou where he broke up the Blaugrana’s play with several vital tackles,” says a post on the Inter Milan website. Mariga comes from a family of trailblazing sportspeople, with his younger brother Victor Wanyama being the first Kenyan player to ply his trade in the English Premier League.
14. M-Pesa: Confirmed! Kenya innovation sent to the world
Safaricom, M-Pesa’s parent company, says that at its launch, M-Pesa was the world’s first mobile money service.
Launched in March 2007, this product that transferred money from one person to another “through an SMS” went on to place Kenya as an example of innovation in the field of financial technology. Safaricom, M-Pesa’s parent company, says that at its launch, M-Pesa was the world’s first mobile money service. “It took off with Kenyans like wildfire,” says the telco.
It has spread far and wide and it has enabled hundreds of transactions at the click of a button. South African businessman Michael Joseph, who was the Safaricom CEO when the product was launched, has often said that M-Pesa has many fathers, though he is the mother of the product. “In 2006, a guy named Nick Hughes, who actually started M-Kopa, came up with the idea,” said Mr Joseph at a business forum in Nairobi in February.
15. Peter Munga: Disruptor of banking industry
Equity Group founder Peter Munga (left) and chief executive James Mwangi at a past event.
The Kenyan banking industry was in for dramatic transformation when one Peter Munga, who would later come to be considered among Murang’a’s leading lights in entrepreneurship, started the Equity Building Society in 1984. That was the beginning of what is today known as Equity Bank, one of the top lenders. Mr Munga was the chairman of Equity’s board for 35 years until 2018.
Working with James Mwangi, the managing director and CEO of Equity Group, they rewrote a number of rules in the banking world and brought various unbanked sectors into the banked bracket. “He has seen Equity grow from a rural building society ranked position 66 out of 66 when only two per cent of the Kenyan population had access to banking services, to become (a) market leader,” said a post on the Equity Bank website announcing his retirement from the board at the age of 75.
16. Peter Tabichi: First African teacher to become best tutor globally
Mr Peter Tabichi.
In 2019, Nakuru-based teacher Peter Tabichi was named the winner of the Global Teacher Prize, an honour that comes with a $1 million (Sh 138.3 million) award. Started in 2015, the award has seven winners so far, and Mr Tabichi is the only African so far. “Peter Tabichi is a science teacher and Franciscan Brother who gives away 80 percent of his monthly income to help the poor.
His dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his students’ talent has led his poorly-resourced school in remote rural Kenya to emerge victorious after taking on the country’s best schools in national science competitions,” says a post on the Global Teacher Prize website.
17. SM Otieno: Blazing the trail posthumously
SM Otieno, whose remains were buried 154 days after his death.
Many trailblazers brought change in their lifetimes. Even one Silvano Melea (SM) Otieno did do his part in enriching the legal field in Kenya as a lawyer.
But it was what happened after his demise that had a longer lasting impact. He was among the first Kenyans to have a publicised burial dispute. When he died in 1986, he brought a great deal of controversy on where the laws of the country end and custom start.
His wife Wambui Otieno planned to bury his remains in Ngong, where they lived, but SM’s brother, representing his clan, went to court asking for orders that SM be buried in his village in today’s Siaya County.
The case was heard at the High Court and later the Court of Appeal, which was then the highest court in the land. It declared that whenever the written laws and the customary laws clash, the customary laws get precedence. This was because, in the opinion of the court, the customs were not against justice or morality. In the end, he was buried in the village.
18. Them Mushrooms: Taking Kiswahili to the world
Them Mushrooms band members.
One of Kenya’s pioneering boys’ bands, Them Mushrooms pushed Kenya to the world by their songs, not least the 1982 hit Jambo Bwana from where the expression “hakuna matata” spread throughout the world and in the long run became one of the phrases associated with tourism in Kenya. The song and the expression “hakuna matata” have also been used in the Disney animation The Lion King and covered by Boney M among other artistes, giving it wide acclaim.
19. Wangari Maathai: First female professor, first female African Nobel Peace Prize winner
The late Nobel Peace laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.
Wangari Maathai is renowned globally for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. Born in 1940, she was passionate about the environment from her early life and this led her to founding the Green Belt Movement.
Through the movement, she was able to mobilise people to plant more trees and take care of the environment. She later realised that corruption and privatisation of land was one of the hindrances to environmental conservation and this started her journey of environmental activism.
She fought for preservation of public land and this led to her being arrested severally. As a trailblazer in environmental conservation, her efforts were recognised when she won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. She became the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to win the Peace Prize. She is also the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
20. Zain Verjee: One of Kenya’s early media exports
Zain Verjee.
Born in Kenya in 1974, Zain Verjee is among the very first journalists from Kenya to get prominent roles in the global media space. She began working as a radio DJ for Capital FM in the late 1990s before moving to KTN as a news presenter. She eventually moved into the global space where she began working for the British Broadcasting Corporation. In 2000, she joined CNN, where she covered major news events such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, the Royal wedding and 2012 London Olympics.
She left CNN in 2014 and started her own media company which is based in the United States and Kenya. Other trailblazing Kenyan exports include Joseph Warungu, Jeff Koinange and Larry Madowo, who is currently an international correspondent at CNN after stints with the BBC and CNBC Africa.
