Simeon Nyachae is a Kenyan politician and former government minister from Kisii County. He is also a successful businessman and entrepreneur with profitable investments inside and outside of Kenya.
Biography
He was born in Nyaribari, in Kisii County on 6 February 1932 to the then powerful colonial chief, Musa Nyandusi. Nyachae's earlier exposure to western education was facilitated by his own father, himself a mission-educated graduate who used his strong influence and acquaintance to the colonial administrators to be appointed chief. Born into a large polygamous family, Nyachae was fortunate that his father developed a particular liking for him, more than his elder brother James Oiruria, who apparently was less talkative and outgoing than Simon Nyachae. In 1941, his father put him in Nyanchwa Seventh-day Adventist School and later in 1947, he joined Kereri Intermediate School. However two years later in 1949, he joined Kisii Government African School but in 1953, just a year before he sat for the then Ordinary Level School Certificate, he withdrew from the school and was employed at his father's chief's camp as a district clerk in 1954. He later attended Torquay Academy and Churchill College, Cambridge, both in the United Kingdom.
Simon Nyachae's long career in the civil service began at this point. However, in 1957, Nyachae's father realized that his son would be better off with higher education and that is why he arranged for his admission to study public administration in London. Upon his return to Kenya in 1960, Nyachae was posted as a District Officer in Kangundo Division and later returning to Churchill College, Cambridge for a diploma course in public administration. He became a District commissioner by December 1963. Upon his return to Kenya in 1964 he went back to provincial administration and from this point on, he steadily rose up the ranks within the provincial administration and ending up serving as a Provincial Commissioner (between 1965–1979 and later chief secretary in the Civil Service under the Kenyatta and Moi governments.
Career in Politics
On his retirement from the civil service, Nyachae was arguably one of the richest and most prominent personalities from Kisii County. During his tenure in the civil service, he had used his influence to amass immense wealth, most of it corruptly. Being the richest man in the county enabled him to gain political power and influence. Using his wealth, he easily vied for and won a parliamentary seat in 1992. His election to parliament 1992 in Nyaribari Chache Constituency was instrumental in his entry into the Moi government as a powerful cabinet minister first for Agriculture, then 1998 for Finance. In 1999 he fell out with Moi and resigned from the government after having been moved to the less influential ministry of Industry. He also left Kenya African National Union to join the oppositionFORD People, by then only a small party with some roots in Central Kenya and three deputies in parliament.
In Ford-People
Nyachae's plans to run for presidency did not find wide support as the main opposition groups cooperated with Mwai Kibaki's Democratic Party to form the National Alliance of Kenya which then teamed up with Raila Odinga's LDP to form the Rainbow Coalition. During the 2002 General Elections he did not succeed in his presidential bid but was able to enter parliament with a 14-member strong FORD-People faction after collecting all constituencies in Kisii. Ford-People was the only sizeable opposition party besides KANU in the 2002 parliament.
Minister under Kibaki
When president Kibaki's NARC-Coalition started to crumble the support of FORD-People became most welcome and in 2004, when president Mwai Kibaki was facing strong opposition from his cabinet he recalled Nyachae to government as Minister for Energy and later for Roads. Nyachae was named in the Waki report as one of the masterminds of the 2007-2008 post-election violence in which more that 1,600 people died. He was believed to have organised attacks on ODM opposition leaders. He ran and lost the 2007 parliamentary elections. The opposition wave swept his Kisii stronghold and Nyachae was soundly defeated as it happened to the majority of Kibaki's government ministers and nearly all Ford-People candidates linked to him.
Business
He runs a chain of business ranging from agriculture, banking, real estate, transportation and manufacturing based in all major cities in Kenya including Narok, Kisii, Kericho, Sotik, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyeri and Nairobi.
Family
Prior to falling ill in 2018, 86 year-old Simeon Nyachae's family included four wives and over 20 children. In April 2018, Nyachae tripped and fell at his home in the Loresho neighborhood in north-west Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. He as initially admitted to Nairobi Hospital for one week. When he did not recover as completely and as fast as expected, he was airlifted to London, in the United Kingdom. He is expected to recuperate at his London home when he is discharged from hospital.
