William Odongo Omamo
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Maseno College
William Odongo Omamo | |
|---|---|
 Omamo in 1982 | |
| Born | 27 March 1928 |
| Died | 27 April 2010 (aged 82) |
| Burial place | Nyambarimba House, Utonga Bay, Bondo |
| Education | Maranda Sector School Maseno College |
| Alma mater | Punjab Agricultural College (BS) |
| Occupations | Politician, farmer, college principal |
| Organization | Egerton College |
Political party | KANU NDP |
| Spouse | Joyce Acholla Anne Audia |
| Children | 16, including Raychelle Omamo |
| Member of Parliament for Muhoroni Constituency | |
| In office 1997 – 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Justus Aloo Ogeka |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Ayiecho Olweny |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 1984 – 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Munyua Waiyaki |
| Succeeded by | Simeon Nyachae |
| Member of Parliament for Bondo Constituency | |
| In office 1980 – 1988 | |
| Preceded by | John Hezekiah Ougo |
| Succeeded by | Gilbert Paul Oluoch |
| In office 1969 – 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Jaramogi Oginga Odinga |
| Succeeded by | John Hezekiah Ougo |
William Odongo Omamo (27 March 1928 in Bondo, Kenya Colony – 27 April 2010) was a Kenyan politician. He was a minister for Agriculture, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources[1] and a member of parliament for the Bondo Constituency and Muhoroni Constituency.[2] Omamo had two wives, Joyce Acholla and Anne Audia, and 16 children. One of the most prominent is Raychelle Omamo, a former Law Society of Kenya chairperson and former ambassador to France who was selected as Cabinet Secretary of Defence in April 2013.[3]
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.
Omamo was born on 27 March 1928, in Bondo (then ruled as part of the British Kenya Colony) 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."[3]
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.[3] He also earned a Doctorate, and studied at Oregon State University.[clarification needed]
