Former minister and father of Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, Dr Zachary Onyonka, born in 1939, was a prominent Kenyan politician and the first Kisii man to earn a PhD.
Onyonka first came into the public limelight in 1969 when he vied for the Kitutu West parliamentary seat and dislodged incumbent Lawrence Sagini Ndemo, the first Cabinet minister from the Gusii region.
After the assassination of the late Minister for Economic Planning, Tom Mboya, in Nairobi, President Jomo Kenyatta appointed Zachary Onyonka to the docket. He was only 30 years old at the time.
As a Cabinet Minister, Onyonka, an economist by profession, was known to write his own speeches.
Zachary Onyonka was born on June 28, 1939, in the then Meru District, where his father, Gorio Oeri Myura, was a police officer.
His family later moved to Kisii after his father resigned from the police force to join the Provincial Administration as an assistant chief.
He was a father of seven. Onyonka married Beatrice Mughamba, a Tanzanian undergraduate student at UoN, on 2 August 1969. They were blessed with six children.
This followed an earlier marriage to Teresia Nyakarita, with whom he had a son, Richard Onyonka.
Onyonka Education
As a young man, Zachary Onyonka was among the beneficiaries of the education airlifts of the 1960s.
He had made a name for himself as a brilliant student at St Mary’s Nyabururu from 1949 and later at St Mary’s Yala, where he studied until 1959.
After high school, he worked at the Gusii County Council until 1960, when he won a scholarship to join the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, United States.
He graduated as an economist in 1965 and later joined Syracuse University in New York for a master’s degree in Economics, specializing in money and banking.
Upon completion, he pursued doctoral studies at the same institution before joining the University of Nairobi as a tutorial fellow while conducting research for his PhD, which he completed in 1969.
Thereafter, the university employed him as a lecturer in the Department of Economics.
Also Read: Richard Onyonka Profile: Age, Education, Career, Family and Net Worth
Entry into Politics and Ministerial Roles
Six months into his lecturing career, Onyonka resigned to contest the Kitutu Chache Constituency seat against Lawrence Sagini, the then Minister for Local Government. Onyonka defeated the veteran Sagini by 580 votes.
He joined the Cabinet in 1969 when he was appointed Minister for Economic Planning, succeeding Tom Mboya, who had been shot dead in Nairobi.
Onyonka also served in several ministries during his political career, including Planning, Health, Housing and Social Services, Information and Broadcasting, Foreign Affairs, and Science and Technology.
During his tenure as Minister for Foreign Affairs, he actively articulated Kenya’s position at international forums and defended the country’s interests abroad.
Onyonka was also an avid reader who wrote his own speeches and loved sports, especially football.
Also Read: Glittering Career of Roselyn Akombe: Former IEBC Commissioner and Partner to Senator Richard Onyonka
Honorary Awards
He was decorated in both academic and public service life and was awarded the rank of Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH) by President Jomo Kenyatta.
He also received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree for his distinguished service to the community.
He held several other positions, including Kisii CANU branch chairman and a board member of the East African Development Bank.
Zachary Onyonka died of a stroke on 22nd October 1996 while serving as Minister for Research, Technical Training and Technology.
