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PROFILE OF HIS EXCELLENCY HON JOHN OBIERO NYAGARAMA, GOVERNOR NYAMIRA COUNTY

His Excellency John Obiero Nyagarama is the first Governor of Nyamira County. He was re-elected on August 8, 2017, on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket, the same party through which he won the 2013 gubernatorial general election. His story is that of resilience and dedication to achieve in life against all odds. Before his election as governor, he worked as a teacher and a long-time manager and director in the tea sector in a career spanning 31 years. The Governor was among the team which oversaw the transition of the KTDA tea agency from a government institution, to a private company registered under the Companies Act. Hon Nyagarama is among the most recognizable faces in the tea sector in the country, rising from a management trainee to a national board member. He served as a KTDA national board member as from 1994 to 2013, as the chairman of Kenya Tea Packers Limited (KETEPA) from 1996 to 2002 and was among the founders and served as Chairman of Chai Trading Company as from 2011 to 2013. He got into the tea sector in 1982 when he was employed as management trainee at KTDA and rose through the ranks to managerial position working in various tea factories. As from 1991 to 1992, he worked as a senior manager at Sotik Tea Company Limited, a multinational tea company, from where he joined Touchline Press Limited, a private publishing company, as its Managing Director. In the year 1993, Hon Nyagarama established a private business in tea export in Mombasa. A year later, tea farmers elected him as a Director to the KTDA Board to represent Zone 10, a region which covers parts of Nyamira County and Marani in Kisii County. Born in a humble background, the governor regularly walked barefooted to school at Nyakemincha Primary School located in West Mugirango Constituency. After his CPE (Certificate of Primary Education), he joined Maseno School for his 0-Levels. He did his A-Levels at Kisii School and thereafter joined the University of Nairobi from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Education in English and Literature in 1975. Hon Nyagarama was employed as a secondary school teacher. He taught in several schools among them Nduru Boys (1975-76), Nyansiongo High School (1977-78) and Menyenya High School from the year 1978 to 1981. He was among the founding teaching staff of Menyenya High School. The Governor describes himself as an all-round man. He is an astute farmer with over 20 acres of tea, among the largest for private tea farmers in the Gusii region, several herds of cattle and tea and banana plantations. Also an entrepreneur, he owns several businesses including the Dorcas Memorial Boarding School, one of the largest academies in Nyamira County. Other than his personal business, Hon Nyagarama has served as a board member of various school among them Kebirigo, Kenyenya, Sironga and Menyenya Secondary School. The Governor is a lover of classical literature and. He has read all the complete sets of Shakespeare works. He is an avid churchgoer and loves religious songs. At the national level, the governor has been involved in peace building and conflict resolution. He was among the ardent supporters of calls for unity between His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM party leader the Right Honourable Raila Odinga.