Former Baringo Independence senator William Kiptui Rotich. [Photo/the Star]
Former Baringo Independence senator William Kiptui Rotich is dead.
According to the politician’s family, he passed on at an Eldoret Hospital on Wednesday, August 16 after suffering from cancer for a long time.
Rotich was one of Kenya's last surviving Independence senators.
He represented Baringo in Kenya's first Senate from 1963-1966 after being elected under the KADU party. He later joined the Kenya Peoples Union.
Senator Rotich was also a student of former President Daniel Arap Moi at Government African School in Kabarnet (now Kabarnet High School) in 1946.
As a politician, he fought for reintroduction of multiparty democracy.
"His political career was largely unpopular due to his divergent but strong-held political views and positions including devolution, post-independence expansion of democratic space, freedom of speech, human rights and inclusion of the Kenyan people in the agenda setting and resource allocation as well as abhorring corruption in government and leadership," Rotich’s daughter, Dorcas Kiptui, is quoted by the Star.
The former senator is survived by his wife Jennifer Rotich, seven children, 18 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
The other Kenya's last surviving independence senators are G.N. Kalya from Nandi, Nathan Munoko from Bungoma, Philip Toikam Lemein from Narok, M. A Msallam from Lamu, and Julius Muthamia from Meru.