Former Minister John Koech is dead.
Koech served as the Minister for East African Regional Cooperation during former President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure from 2006 to 2007.
He also served as the Minister of Public Works from 1988 to 1989.
Koech is also the longest-serving Chepalungu Member of Parliament, having served from 1979 to 1990 and then from 2003 to 2007.
Born in 1946 in Olbutyo, Chepalungu, Koech attended Segemik Primary School and later Tenwek High School for his O’ and A’ level education. From Tenwek, he went to Makerere University in Uganda, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
From 1973 to 1975, he worked as a high school teacher and later, from 1976 to 1979, as an education officer. Early in his budding career as an educationist, he attempted to venture into the rough and tumble of politics by vying for the Chepalungu parliamentary seat, but he emerged second after the incumbent, Kimunai arap Soi.
He eventually triumphed in the 1979 general election, the first after Moi became president following the death of Jomo Kenyatta. Before the election, he had been introduced to Moi by Kipsigis power brokers led by Isaac Salat, a long-serving Assistant Minister in the Office of the President. New on the job, President Moi was scouting for a team to work with.
Koech served as Chepalungu MP uninterrupted from 1979 to 1990, promoting education in the Kericho and Bomet districts as a result of his previous professional experience. In 1988, Koech was appointed Minister for Public Works, a position he held for only one year because in May 1989, he was sacked.
The late Koech was reportedly sacked after he differed with Moi and a few powerful people in government over the manner in which he was handling his ministry.
It was during his time as a minister in Moi's government that a dramatic incident unfolded. One day, after a graduation ceremony at Egerton University in Njoro, Koech made his way to Moi’s home for the customary luncheon that followed such events, only to be denied entry.
Livid at the humiliation, he headed straight to the Nation Media Group’s Nakuru Bureau and wrote a resignation letter that was published the next day. Nobody knows what transpired overnight, but the next morning, he called a press conference retracting his letter. He was back on the job.
Koech's relationship with Moi became strained, but he still managed to find another job in his regime, becoming the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Permanent Representative from 1998 to 2000.
As he entered the twilight of his political career, Koech served as the Chepalungu MP once more, culminating in 16 years of service to the people of Chepalungu. He expressed his ambition to vie for the Bomet County gubernatorial, but his old age stood in the way.
