Chepsetyon: Life story of business magnate recognised by Ruto as shujaa

In a society that stresses the importance of a university degree as a pathway to success, one old man disproved this notion and went on to make a name for himself in business.

On Mashujaa Day, President William Ruto posthumously recognised Mzee Samuel Kipsoi Kipterer Ngetich alias Chepsetyon as one who did not allow his educational status to define him, but rather his determination to become a business magnate.

He died at the age of 73 while undergoing treatment for a liver ailment at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi on August 27, 2022.

But what is the life story of this shujaa?

For starters, he was born in Chepsetyon village in Kericho County in 1949, according to family members. His education history is scant: Mzee Ngetich dropped out of school in Standard Three.

However, he went on to build a business empire in tea, sugar, mining, property, hospitality, warehousing and retail. He was well known for Kipchimatt Supermarkets, a retail chain started in the 90s that now has several outlets across the country.

Away from business, the staunch Catholic also rose to become a councillor and deputy mayor in the defunct Kericho Municipal Council.

Mzee Ngetich was born in Chepsetyon village in Kericho County in 1949, according to family members, a name that stuck with him after he chose it as his business name in the formative stages of his entrepreneurial spirit.

Dr Ruto posthumously recognised two elders from the region as heroes - Mzee Ngetich and legendary athlete Wilson Kiprugut Chumo, the first Kenyan and East African to win an Olympic medal, after whom he directed that the Kericho Green Stadium be named.

"We celebrate Mzee Ngetich Chepsetyon, an incredible entrepreneur who exemplifies the bottom-up story," Dr Ruto said in concluding his speech at Kericho Green Stadium during the Mashujaa Day celebrations.

"A Grade Three dropout, he pulled himself up through sheer determination to build the Kipchimchim Group of Companies, whose interests span various industries and employ thousands of Kenyans," Dr Ruto said.

It is on record that he used his personal resources to educate more than 5,000 needy students, taking them through secondary schools, colleges and universities. Some of them are employed in the businesses he has set up.

Started as a waiter

Mzee Ngetich dropped out of school while at Keongo Primary School in 1956, and was employed by his uncle as a waiter at a hotel in Kericho before opening his own business, which collapsed after a while.

He then moved on to the transport business, where he eventually owned 11 public service vehicles before the same business collapsed.

A serial entrepreneur, he then moved to open a bar at the Brooke trading centre in Kericho, which he ran for a while before opening a retail shop that later grew into a chain of supermarkets - under the name Kipchimatt Supermarkets.

By the time of his death, his empire spanned seven counties - Kericho, Bomet, Narok, Kisumu, Nandi, Nakuru and Mombasa.

The family's flagship companies, which he started from scratch, include Mbogo Valley, Sangalo Tet and Kuresoi tea factories, Kipchimatt supermarkets, SABS Mining and Construction Company, ABSS Warehouses Limited and West Valley Sugar Company - operate under the umbrella of the Kipchimchim Group of Companies.

Family and friends remember him as a man who overcame many odds and setbacks to rise to the top of the business world.

From digging pit latrines to working as a green leaf picker on small tea estates, weeding maize plantations, acting as a middleman for villagers selling chickens in the local market to support his siblings after dropping out of school are some of the engagements he took up in his formative years.

It was only in the early 1990s that he broke even by buying tea leaves and selling them to multinational tea companies when the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) started paying very little to small tea growers, an enterprise he found profitable and from which he took a loan and built a processing factory.

By the time he died, he had at least five factories in Nakuru, Nandi, Kericho and Bomet counties.

His sons - Alfred and Ben Soi - and daughter Ms Sharon Chepkoech, speaking on behalf of the family, described their late father as a loving man who worked hard to educate a community and provide them with employment opportunities to transform their lives.

They thanked President Ruto for recognising his efforts to bring about meaningful change in society through his business acumen, creating employment opportunities and seeking to improve Kenya's economy.

"As a family, we are grateful for the President's recognition of our family patriarch. It strengthens our resolve to take the business to the next level as Mzee (Ngetich) would have wanted," they said.

With his burly figure, he always wore multi-coloured shirts that he kept un-tucked, an afro hairstyle with strands of grey that made him look every inch an grandfather.

“My dad had a way of bringing laughter and smiles to everyone, he would woo every crowd. Even on a dull day he knew how to bring laughter and smiles to everyone,” Chepkoech said. 

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