SIMEON Nyachae, who passed away in early February at the age of 88, was among the men who shaped Kenya and made it one of Africa’s leading economies. For Kenya’s first 40 years of independence, he was highly visible in government and helped to craft an economy oriented to the private sector that also was favourable to both large and small-scale agriculture. DAVID K. LEONARD, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley Nyachae held senior leadership positions under all three of Kenya’s first presidents – Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki – from 1963 to 2007.…