Amason Kingi was elected Speaker of the Senate on Thursday, September 8, after garnering 46 out 67 votes.
Kingi was born in 1974 in the Magarini constituency in Kilifi County, four years before Kenya's founding father the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta passed away.
At a tender age in 1980, he began his primary school education at Magarini Primary School before he proceeded to Alliance Boys High School from 1989 to 1992.
The now seasoned politician holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the University of Nairobi where he graduated and proceeded to the Kenya School of Law for a diploma in Law in 1998.
Before diving into politics, Kingi practiced law under a private firm in Mombasa where he was an advocate and partner between 2000 and 2003.
He also worked as a district coordinator for the Kilifi District under the Constitution of Kenya Reform Commission (CKRC).
His career as an attorney was hijacked by his passion for politics.
He was among the youngest politicians to serve in the late president Mwai Kibaki's government as Magarini Member of Parliament in 2003, a position he held up to 2013.
In 2007, he defended his seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party ticket and won.
At the East African Community (EAC), Kingi served as the Minister for East African Community Affairs between 2008 and 2010 before he was replaced by Helen Sambili.
He served as the Minister in the Ministry of Fisheries Development after taking over Paul Otuoma from 2010 to 2013.
Under the 2010 constitution, Kingi became Kilifi county's pioneer governor and defended his seat in the subsequent general election in 2017.
Kingi made headlines after ditching Raila Odinga's Azimio La Umoja Coalition to join William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance in May 2022.
He is the leader of the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) party. He is also married to Liz Kingi and together they have two children.
The Kenya Kwanza wing led by William Ruto unanimously endorsed Kingi for the Senate speaker's position.
Kingi won the Speakers race by a landslide, amassing 46 votes out of a possible 67. His win came moments after his main challenger former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka withdrew from the race.
Kingi becomes the youngest speaker at 48 years. Previous Senate speakers Kenneth Lusaka and Ekwe David Ethuro were both born in 1963.
