One of the first female Kenyan writers to be published, Grace Ogot was also a politician, nurse, author, journalist and diplomat.

Ogot is among the founding members of the Writers Association of Kenya and was its chairperson from 1975 to 1980.

She went to Parliament via a by-election in Gem Constituency after the murder of the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) in 1984.

She was appointed Assistant Minister for Culture and Social Services in 1985 by President Moi. This made her the only woman to hold such a position at the time, after her counterpart Julia Ojiambo. Ogot managed to hold on to the Gem seat until 1992 when she lost it Dr Ooko Ombaka after the return of multi-party elections.

Ogot trained as a nurse both in England and Uganda between 1949 and 1953. After her training, she worked at the St Thomas Hospital for Mothers and Babies in London. When she returned to East Africa in 1958, she started working as a Midwifery Tutor at the Maseno Hospital before moving to the Makerere University College student health services department.

The most popular among Ogot’s published works are: Land Without Thunder, The Other Woman, The Promised Land and The Island of Tears.

As a journalist, she worked as a script writer and broadcaster for BBC where she also had a popular weekly programme in Dholuo. She was also a columnist for the East African Standard. She also served as the Public Relations Officer for Air India Cooperation of East Africa.

Ogot was appointed a delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1975 and a year later she was a member of the Kenyan delegation to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Ogot died at the Nairobi Hospital on March 18, 2015, after a long illness.