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Dr Taaitta Arap Toweett | |
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| 7th Minister for Education | |
| In office 1976–1979 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| 3rd Minister for Housing and Social Services | |
| In office 1974–1976 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| 5th Minister for Education | |
| In office 1969–1974 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Minister for Labour and Housing | |
| In office 1961–1962 | |
| Governor General | Malcolm MacDonald |
| Minister for Lands, Surveys and Town Planning | |
| In office 1962–1963 | |
| Governor General | Malcolm MacDonald |
| Assistant Minister for Agriculture | |
| In office 1960–1961 | |
| Governor General | Malcolm MacDonald |
| Nominated Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1992–1997 | |
| President | Daniel Arap Moi |
| Nominated Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1983–1988 | |
| President | Daniel Arap Moi |
| Member of Parliament for Bureti Constituency | |
| In office 1969–1979 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Preceded by | Alexander K. Arap Biy |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Kimetet arap Ng'eno |
| 1st Member of Parliament for Bureti Constituency | |
| In office 1963–1966 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Alexander K. Arap Biy |
| 1st Member of the Legislative Council for Southern Area (Comprising Kericho District and Maasai District) | |
| In office 1958–1963 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elisha Kipyegon Arap Toweett c. May 1925 Tebesonik,Litein,Kenya Colony |
| Died | 8 October 2007 Nakuru, Kenya |
| Cause of death | Automobile accident |
| Citizenship | Kenya |
| Political party | KANU |
| Spouse(s) | (Rachael Taplule Chebet, Elizabeth Cherotich and Anna Kamaya) |
| Children | 32 |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Alliance High School,Kikuyu Cambridge School Certificate 1944–47 Jeans School (Kenya School of Government,Kikuyu) (Certificate in Social Work) 1949 Makerere University (Diploma in Sociology, English Literature and History) 1950 South Devon Technical College, Torquay (Diploma in Public and Social Administration) 1955 University of South Africa BA 1956 BA (Hon) 1959 University of Nairobi MA in Linguistics1973 University of Nairobi PhD in Linguistics and Languages, Thesis "A Study of Kalenjin Linguistics" 1977 |
| Occupation | Politician, writer, poet, linguist |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1953–2007 |
Dr. Elisha Kipyegon Taaitta Arap Toweett, also known asTaaitta Arap Toweett (c. May 1925 – 8 October 2007), was a scholar, writer, linguist and aKenyan politician.[1]
Towett was born in May 1925 at Tebesonik, nearLitein, in Kisiara Location,Kericho District, Now Tebosonik ward, Kericho county, Kenya. His father Cheelogoi Araap Maeero (who died in 1976, aged 110) was originally fromMokomoni,North Mugirango, and his mother was Tapaase Temugo (who died in 1934). He had a younger sister, Christina Turgut, and a younger brother, John Towett. Towett was educated at Chebwagan Primary School, African Government School inKabianga (1939–43),Alliance High School inKikuyu (1944–47), and atMakerere University College, where he studied Sociology, English Literature and History.
He decided to become a social worker and joined Jeans School, nowKenya Institute of Administration,Kabete, where he trained for social welfare work. He was appointed Welfare Officer inKericho in 1950. In 1953 he worked briefly as a broadcaster withVoice of Kenya (VOK), African Service,Kisumu. He was awarded a scholarship by the Kipsigis County Council in 1955 to theSouth Devon Technical College,Torquay, to study for a diploma in public and social administration. He obtained a B.A. (1956) and B.A. (Hons) 1959 from theUniversity of South Africa.On his return from Britain in 1957, he was appointed Community Development Officer forNandi District, the first African CDO to be recruited locally in Kenya. During this period was the editor of the Kipsigis vernacular magazineNgalek Ap Kipsigisiek, published quarterly.
He was one of the eight original Africans elected to the Legislative Council in 1958 as Member for the Southern Area, a constituency comprising mainly Kipsigis and Maasai Districts. He formedKalenjin Political Alliance Party that later on got into an alliance withKADU. He served on the Dairy Board and played a crucial role in the foundation of the co-operative movement nationally. In 1960, 1962, 1963 he attended the Lancaster House Conferences held in London to draft Kenya's Constitution, paving the way for complete self-rule.
While serving in the Legislative Council, he was appointed as Minister for Lands and Physical Planning in 1958 and he once told a mammoth crowd of Kipsigis who had besieged him at a public rally at Sosiot in Belgut, he made the famous remarks saying that‘'Those who want free land should go to and settles in Sahara Desert, because there was plenty of disused land in the desert.
He told them to form small land buying companies and buy big farms in the then White highlands, this at the same time happened while his neighbour and friendJaramogi Oginga Odinga was telling his Luo followers that when Kenya becomes an independent country the land will be plenty and free for every landless Kenyan. Jaramogi told his people that the White settlers had stolen the fertile land from Africans and occupied it and that they would be chased away by an African post-independence government. This was an eye-opener to the Kipsisgis people. Most of them bought farms in the White highlands, and settled many families in areas like Londiani, Sotik, Kitale, Eldoret, Molo, Kedowa and Lembwa.
He was appointed Assistant Minister for Agriculture (1960); re-elected to the Legislative Council in 1961; appointed Minister of Labour and Housing in 1961 AND Minister of Lands, Surveys and Town Planning in 1962. He was elected Kadu Member forBureti Constituency in 1963. He joinedKANU and resigned from Parliament.In 1969, he returned to Parliament as the MP for Buret and was appointed Minister for Education. He was re-elected to Parliament in the 1974 General Election and was appointed Minister for Housing and Social Services. He obtained his M.A. in Linguistics from theUniversity of Nairobi, for which he had registered in 1973.
He became Minister for Education in 1976, and was elected President of the 19th General Assembly ofUNESCO (1976–78). In 1977, he finished his PhD thesis on "A Study of Kalenjin Linguistics".
He lost the general election in 1979, but was appointed Chairman ofKenya Literature Bureau. He did not contest the 1983 General Election but returned to parliament as a nominated MP. From 1983 to mid-1985 he served as Chairman ofKenya Airways, from there he was appointed Chairman ofKenya Seed Company where he served until 1998. From 1992 to 1997 he was back in parliament as a nominated MP.He also served as a Director of theKenya Times newspaper, and published and edited his own newspaper,Voice of Rift Valley, from 1997 to 2000.From 2002 he wrote a weekly column in theKenya Times called "Face To Face With Guru". He was actively involved in the Constitution Review Process atBomas of Kenya, 2003–04.
Dr. Toweett had a large diverse family with four wives; the late Rachel Chemibei, the late Rachel Chebet Taplule and Elizabeth Cherotich, Anna Kamaya. He has 32 children including and over 40 grandchildren including Patricia Chepkemoi Byegon and great-grandchildren.
Weeks before he died he was dictating, from memory, his unique life story to one of his sons Xhuuma Maseeti, who was compiling his autobiography. In his 1963 poem "Polygamy," Dr. Toweett wrote: "my ambition is nil except for writing."
He died on 8 October 2007 after an automobile accident. The car he was traveling in collided head on with a canter truck a few kilometers from hisShimoni residence.
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