Former KPTC boss Mutai dies at 71

A former managing director of the defunct Kenya Post and telecommunication Jan Mutai is dead. He was 71.

Mutai is a younger brother of veteran politician Philomena Chelagat Mutai. He passed on at a Nairobi hospital after what the his family said was a long battle with cancer.

Mutai, who hails from Terige village, O’Llessos, in Nandi was the last MD of KPTC who presided over the splitting of the giant parastatal into three units.

He saw the creation of the communication regulatory body, Communication Commission of Kenya, now the Communication Authority, Telcom Kenya and Postal Corporation of Kenya.

Former President Daniel arap Moi had picked him from Shell and BP company where he was in-charge of marketing and corporate affairs.

 Unknown to many, Eng Mutai was the person behind the name and design of the Safaricom logo.

Mutai revealed to the Star in 2016 in Kapsabet town that he was happy whenever he went around the country seeing the logo he designed.

“The UK-based Vodafone, which owns about 50 per cent of company, wanted the new mobile firm named Vodafone Kenya,”he said.

“I prevailed upon them to make it more attractive by using the word Safari for tourism purposes but ensure the Vodafone logo was within the design.”

Mutai said the directors of the then new mobile operator asked him to design what he meant.

“I did it free of charge. It took me about 30 minutes to design as it looked simple and attractive.” He said.

Mutai , a staunch Catholic, was born at  1949 in Terige village in Emgwen subcounty to Antony Chemoit and attended  Terige Primary School within the locality.

He went to Rukwaro mission intermediate school in south Nyanza, the proceeded to Mukumu seminary in Kakamega where he studied before moving to Kapsabet High School.

He then joined Shimo La Tewa High School for his A-level and was admitted to the University of Nairobi to study civil engineering and graduated in 1972.

He is a founder chairman of Koitalel Samoei University College in Nandi and a long-serving board chairman of Kapnyeberai Girls High School apart from being a board member of Association of Kenyan Engineers.

Mutai abhorred politics after seeing how his sister Chelagat suffered in the hands of the state.

“I don’t want politics. Look at the way my sister suffered fighting for justice and equality in our society. She died a miserable person,” Mutai said.

He his survived by his widow Susan Koitie-Mutai and three grown-up children, two sons and a daughter.

Edited by Henry Makori