Ibrahim Ambwere is a wealthy man who is not known by many in Kenya but not in the Western region.
In the early 1980s, Ambwere stunned Kenyans when he offered to pay all teachers in a bid to end a strike.
The tycoon was ready to cough Sh48 million in the 80s. This was a lot of money then.
Interestingly, the man didn’t have formal education, but money was not a problem for him and his family.
In a past interview, he revealed that he does not want to talk about the issue since it made the government start investigating his private life.
“I don’t want to talk about it, it still causes me pain,” he says.
The billionaire has properties in Kitale, Mbale, Kakamega, Kisumu, Nairobi and other major towns yet he maintains an air of mystery even with all the wealth.
He rarely appears in public and admits he has deliberately evaded the watchful eye of the media. “I trust very few people,” he notes..
Born in 1936 in a polygamous family, Ambwere has not had it easy rising to the top.
He recalls traveling all the way to Molo to work in a pyrethrum farm when he was only 10.
However, the move didn’t bear the fruits he expected after he left the job on the same day.
“I quit on my first day. My eyes itched and my nose was stuffy due to allergy,” he says.