Roselinda Soipan Tuya made history in 2022 as the first Maasai woman to be nominated as cabinet secretary in Kenya. She currently heads the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.
WoK takes a closer look at the life and trailblazing career of the ‘Iron Lady’ of Narok.
Background
Soipan is the fourth daughter of former Narok South MP Samson Ole Tuya. Born and bred in Narok, she tendered her father’s livestock alongside her siblings during her formative years.
She considers herself a product of opportunity as her father was the only one among 15 siblings to have acquired an education.
She attended Ololulunga primary school within the Olentutu arid zone of Narok county.
The school was established by the World Bank to support pastoralist communities. Soipan sat for her KCPE at the school and emerged top girl in the Narok district.
She proceeded to Moi Girls High School, where she studied for two years and transferred to Kenya High School in Nairobi due to health-related reasons. There, she sat for her KCSE exams in 1998.
She proceeded to the University of Nairobi to pursue Law and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2002, proceeding to the Kenya School of Law for her diploma. In 2004, she was admitted to the bar as an advocate of the high court of Kenya.
Five years later, she secured a scholarship to pursue a Master’s in law in sustainable international development at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA.
Career
Soipan’s first job was with an NGO where she worked as a legal officer coordinating issues of land and environmental governance. There, she participated in various regional and international forums and won several land-related cases.
Her second job was at the Ministry of Justice as a UN volunteer specialist. Her work was to develop policy briefs centering around human rights abuse among Kenyans.
She then joined Kituo Cha Sheria, an access to justice organization, as a legal aid coordinator.
Here, she was involved in various cases, such as the infamous Tana delta environment cancer case in Marsabit caused by oil spills in the region. She has also worked with USAID.
Soipan made her political debut in 2012 and served for 12 years as a woman rep for Narok County. In 2022, she expressed interest in vying for the Narok gubernatorial seat but later stepped down to work in the president’s campaign team.
Before she was appointed as CS in 2022, she was a nominated senator under the UDA party.
Net worth
Speaking before the parliamentary vetting committee, Soipan disclosed her net worth to be sh 156 million.
Her wealth is comprised of one home in Nairobi and two homes in Narok. She also has apartments in both towns and a fleet of personal cars. Finally, she has two plots of land in Kitengela and runs a Dairy business.
As CS, she earns a monthly salary of sh 957 000 according to Pulse Kenya.
She is married to former Narok County Assembly majority leader Stephen Ole Kudate and is known to have at least one son.
