The country was treated to a rare moment in 2018 when Rita Field-Marsham, one of the seven children of former Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwott, declined to take her late father’s wealth.
Rita had been allocated a one-fourteenth share of the strongman’s wealth, which she turned down but did not disclose her reasons.
The renowned advocate’s stake was shared equally among the rest of the family.
“I am named as a beneficiary of a share of the deceased’s estate. I wish to disclaim all my right, title and interest to the share in the deceased’s estate,” she stated.
Rita was born to Biwott and his Dutch wife Johanna. She has a sister called Rhoda Jakobsoon.
While studying at the McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Rita met Charles Field-Marsham and they began dating. At the time, they were both undertaking their undergraduate studies.
The couple later got married and started their family in Kenya where they also run extensive businesses. However, after Biwott’s right-hand man, President Daniel Arap Moi, retired in 2002 – Rita and her husband moved to Toronto, Canada
Profession
Rita is a woman who wears many hats. She is a lawyer and philanthropist who has previously worked as a prosecuting counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers in Kenya.
She founded Field-Marsham Co. Advocates, was a member of the Commercial Law Committee of the Law Society of Kenya, a member of the pro bono panel of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, and a member of the pro bono panel of the Kenya High Court and Court of Appeal.
Rita is the founder and CEO of a charity organisation known as Knowledge Empowering Youth (KEY) as well as the co-founder and CEO of the Rita and Charles Field-Marsham Foundation.
She is also the director and co-sponsor of the Kenya Scholar Athlete Program (KenSAP) which has facilitated the placement of over 130 disadvantaged Kenyan students to US and Canadian elite Universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, McGill and University of Toronto.
Business
During the couple’s time in Kenya, they established a number of businesses.
Kestrel Capital, is one such company, whose stock brokerage foreign client base covers Europe, USA, South America, Asia, Mideast, Southern Africa and West Africa.
The company has received several awards from Euromoney magazine as the “Best Stockbroker in Kenya”.
In addition, the couple have a charity organisation known as Field-Marsham Foundation. The Foundation deals with projects that advance education and nurture healthy, inclusive communities.
“Influenced by our divergent backgrounds and lessons we have learnt, we do what we can to support the next generation of dreamers, wherever they hail,” reads an excerpt of the couple’s website.
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
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