When the estate of the late former Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott was being distributed in 2018, many expected his children to inherit portions of the vast wealth he had accumulated over the years. Instead, one of his daughters made a decision that stunned many Kenyans.
Rita Field-Marsham, one of Biwott’s seven children, voluntarily gave up her inheritance. Court documents showed that she had been allocated a one-fourteenth share of her father’s estate but formally declined it, asking that her portion be shared equally among the remaining beneficiaries.
In her declaration, Rita stated: “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.”
Rita did not publicly explain why she made the decision, and she has not disclosed her reasons. As a result, various theories have circulated over the years. Some people have speculated that she may have been uncomfortable with the source of some of her father’s wealth because of his controversial reputation during the era of former President Daniel arap Moi. However, these claims remain unverified, and Rita herself has never confirmed that this was her motivation.
Born to Nicholas Biwott and his Dutch wife Johanna, Rita grew up alongside her sister, Rhoda Jakobsson. She later pursued higher education at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she met fellow student Charles Field-Marsham. Their friendship blossomed into a relationship, and the two eventually married.
After completing their studies, the couple settled in Kenya, where they established successful businesses and became active in philanthropy. Following President Moi’s retirement in 2002, they later relocated to Toronto, Canada, while maintaining strong ties to Kenya.
Professionally, Rita built an impressive career independent of her family’s name. She worked as a prosecuting counsel in Kenya’s Attorney General’s Chambers before founding Field-Marsham Co. Advocates. She also served on the Commercial Law Committee of the Law Society of Kenya and contributed to several pro bono legal initiatives, helping expand access to justice.
Beyond law, Rita has devoted much of her life to education and community development. She founded Knowledge Empowering Youth (KEY) and co-founded the Rita and Charles Field-Marsham Foundation, organizations focused on expanding educational opportunities for young people.
She also serves as a director and co-sponsor of the Kenya Scholar Athlete Program (KenSAP), an initiative that has helped more than 130 talented but financially disadvantaged Kenyan students gain admission to prestigious universities in the United States and Canada, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, McGill, and the University of Toronto.
Together with her husband, Rita also helped establish Kestrel Capital, an investment firm that has served clients across Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company has earned recognition, including awards from Euromoney magazine as one of Kenya’s leading stockbrokers.
Although Rita’s decision to renounce her inheritance continues to attract public interest, she has remained private about her personal reasons. What is evident, however, is that she has forged her own path—building a distinguished career in law, business, and philanthropy while dedicating herself to creating educational opportunities and empowering future generations.
