Francis Nguatah is celebrated as one of Kenya’s best weatherman during his days at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
The University of Nairobi alumnus started his career at the Kenya Meteorological Department shortly before moving to KBC in 1988.
Nguatah was famed for predicting the weather exactly how it would behave earning respect from Kenyans following up for weather updates.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Nguatah was born and raised in Maringo Estate, Nairobi.
He attended Dr Krapf Primary School and proceeded to join Starehe Boys Center for his secondary school education.
Nguatah mentioned that he initially wanted to pursue a career in medicine but he chose meteorology because he wanted to understand weather issues.
“While at Starehe, I visited hospitals but I realised that that was not my thing,” he said in an interview with Nation.
Career
Following the completion of his secondary school education, Nguatah joined the University of Nairobi where he graduated with a degree in meteorology in 1984.
He started working at the Meteorology Department and joined KBC as a presenter four years later in 1988.
Before joining KBC, Nguatah had also worked at the Ministry of Transport briefly stationed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
By 2006, he had risen through the ranks becoming the Provincial Director of Meteorology and he was later appointed Nyeri County Director of Meteorology in 2010.
This was his last posting before the Meteorology Department announced his retirement in September 2019.
“Today we are celebrating his Great Achievement after retirement, kindly drop your message wishes or comment. What you remember most about him,” the Met Department shared on X, formerly Twitter.
Following his retirement, Nguatah said he would be turning his focus to helping the community.
“I will rest a bit as I contemplate life as a senior citizen. I can be an elder in the church or a farmer. What I know is that I’ll continue being a weatherman,” he said.
In 2019, Nguatah was awarded a Head of State Commendation last year by former President Uhuru Kenyatta for his illustrious career.
“Utahama Lini?” promotion
Other than weather focusing, Nguatah made headlines in 2011 after winning a house in Nation’s “Utahama Lini?” promotion.
He won himself a three-bedroom bungalow worth Ksh 4.7 million at Oasis Park, Kitengela after taking part in the gambling competition.
“When people heard I was buying more than one newspaper to increase my chances of winning they said I was wasting my money and that it was a hoax,” Nguatah said.
Nguatah’s wife was proud of his efforts saying, “We had gotten tired of living in a flat and we were longing to build our own house so we could move in.”