Ephantus Kimotho Kimani is a Kenyan accountant and public servant whose career took an unexpected turn when he moved from financial management into government leadership, first serving as Principal Secretary (PS) for Forestry before taking charge of the State Department for Irrigation.
Although his professional background is rooted in accounting, auditing and business management, Kimotho has since been involved in government programmes covering forest conservation, tree planting, irrigation development and food security.
His transition into the environmental sector was particularly unexpected, with the Principal Secretary admitting he had expected to work in a different field when he was appointed to head the Forestry Department.
Ephantus Kimotho’s Early Life and Education
Ephantus Kimotho was born in Kajiado County in 1977. His full name is Ephantus Kimotho Kimani.
He attended Oloolaiser High School, where he sat his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in 1995.
He later joined the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, where he pursued a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and graduated in 2009.
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Kimotho also undertook professional accounting training, obtaining the first part of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualification at the Kenya College of Accountancy before completing Parts II and III at the Vision Institute of Professionals.
He also completed Part I of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification.
Career Before Joining Government
Before his appointment as Principal Secretary, Kimotho had spent several years working in the private sector and at the University of Nairobi.
He began his professional career as an external auditor at Kimani and Associates CPA, where he worked between 1999 and 2002.
In 2002, he joined the University of Nairobi as an internal auditor, a position he held until 2011.
His responsibilities involved examining financial records and supporting accountability within the institution.
After leaving the university, Kimotho ventured further into business and financial consultancy.
Ephantus Kimotho worked as a financial consultant at Premier Financial Consultants between 2011 and 2014.
In 2011, he also became a partner at Kimotho K & Associates CPA and Chief Executive Officer of Heri Homes Limited. In 2015, he took up a directorship at Leo Capital Holdings Limited.
During his parliamentary vetting in November 2022, Kimotho told MPs that his experience in financial matters, team management and auditing would help him manage resources and implement programmes in the Forestry Department.
How Ephantus Kimotho Became Forestry PS
In November 2022, President William Ruto nominated Ephantus Kimotho to be Principal Secretary in the State Department for Forestry.
He appeared before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining for vetting on November 30, 2022.
The committee examined his academic qualifications, professional experience, integrity and understanding of the forestry sector before recommending his appointment.
Parliament subsequently approved his nomination on December 1, 2022.
His appointment put him in charge of a department responsible for implementing government policies on forest conservation, restoration, and the sustainable management of forest resources.
One of the major programmes during his tenure was the government’s 15-billion-tree-growing initiative, which sought to increase Kenya’s tree cover and restore degraded landscapes.
Kimotho Admitted Forestry Appointment Surprised Him
One of the most interesting aspects of Kimotho’s career is that he did not initially expect to work in the forestry sector.
In an interview in August 2024, he said his appointment as Forestry PS surprised him because he was a finance expert who expected to be assigned to a different department.
However, he said he developed an interest in nature conservation after taking up the position.
“The most surprising thing that happened to me is being given the job as PS for Forestry,” he said during the interview.
Ephantus Kimotho added that the experience had made him fall in love with nature.
The admission offered a glimpse into how his career moved beyond the accounting profession into an area he had not initially anticipated.
Move From Forestry to Irrigation
In May 2023, Ephantus Kimotho was reassigned from the State Department for Forestry to the State Department for Irrigation as part of President Ruto’s changes to the deployment of Principal Secretaries.
He officially took over the irrigation department from Gitonga Mugambi on May 18, 2023, during a handover ceremony at Maji House in Nairobi.
Mugambi, who had previously headed Irrigation, moved to the Forestry Department.
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