Top 100 Kenyans 2019

Zuleikha Hassan

The Kwale Woman Representative studied at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Development and Social Transformation with coursework in the fields of Environmental and Geographic Sciences, Gender Studies, History, Politics, Social Anthropology and Sociology.

She stole headlines when she was ordered out of Parliament in August 2019 for carrying her 5-month-old baby into the chambers.  

Teresia Wairimu

Reverend Teresa Wairimu is the founder and director of Faith Evangelistic Ministry (FEM).

She is an influential woman, who through her work, has impacted many people in Kenya and other countries. She is a recipient of the Martin Luther King Peace Award for Africa, an award given in recognition of her work.

The religious leader is also the author and has impacted millions in Kenyans through her ministry, including President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. 

Paul Yonga

Paul is an infectious and tropical disease physician based in Eldoret, Kenya.

He was awarded the 2019 IAMAT Violet Williams Travel Medicine Scholarship to train with the South African Society of Travel Medicine (SASTM) and participate in clinical observations at the Travel Doctor Clinic in Johannesburg.

IAMAT Scholarships provide training in travel medicine to practitioners who are passionate about improving care for local patients and travellers in their community.

Sarah Momanyi

Sarah Momanyi has won national chess championships for her age bracket two years running. 

The slum where she lives, Mukuru kwa Njenga, is one of the grittiest in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It makes headlines for cholera outbreaks, gang battles, prostitution rings and the city government’s constant threats to raze it.

It is built on a wasteland between two industrial zones. Every alleyway is lined by two open gutters.

Sarah’s achievements come despite both her parents’ absence in her life. 

Wawira Njiru

Wawira Njiru is a Kenyan businesswoman, entrepreneur, human nutritionist, and philanthropist, who serves as the executive director of Food 4 Education, an organization that cooks, prepares and distributes nutritious meals, at subsidized prices to over 2,000 poor school children in Ruiru, a suburb of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.

Stella Bosire

Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, November 21, recognised a Kenyan doctor by awarding her for exemplary work.

Dr Stella Wairimu Bosire-Otieno was handed the Commonwealth Points of Light Award, which recognises outstanding volunteers and people who are making a change in their community.

Wairimu was recognised for her work through the Dr Stellah Bosire Foundation, which has supported over 20,000 women and girls living in poverty to access education programmes, mentoring, work experience and reproductive and sexual health advice.

Frida Njogu

Frida Njogu-Ndongwe is a medical doctor and public health specialist with experience in implementing HIV/TB and maternal, newborn and child health programmes.

She is part of a team that conceptualised, designed and developed the Afyakit and is the current technical lead on the project. The Afyakit is a platform that can house digital supervision tools and provide analytics.

Jessie Lessit

Lady Justice Jessie Wanjiku Lessit can be described as a no-nonsense judge who doesn't suffer fools.

She has handled some of Kenya's high profile murder cases which have thrown her into the public eye, including those involving Migori Governor Okoth Obado.

Stationed at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, she has over 15 years of experience as a judge and heads the Milimani High Court Criminal division.

Popular lawyer Cliff Ombeta has recognised the judge's low tolerance for sideshows in her courtroom.

Khaligraph Jones

Khaligraph Jones who is also known as Papa Jones is an influential Kenyan rapper with a unique style and a flow which cuts across the complexity of genres and eras with his music.

He was instrumental in advocating for the rights of musicians who protested the mismanagement of collective management organisations, in particular, the Music Copyright Society of Kenya which came under fire for low remittances to artists.

Fred Matiang'i

Fred Matiang'i is the CS in charge of the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. 

Going by the dockets and responsibilities that President Uhuru Kenyatta entrusted him with in 2019, Matiang'i comes out as his confidant and right-hand man.

Twice in 2019, President Kenyatta assigned more powers to the CS.

In January 2019, the president, through an Executive Order, appointed the Interior CS to head all government projects.