Education
Nyong'o completed his undergraduate studies at Uganda's Makerere University, where he was awarded a 1st class honours degree in political science. He thereafter proceeded to his graduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Chicago, where he obtained his masters and PhD in political science in 1977.
Career
He was the Minister for Medical Services and previously the Minister for Planning & National Development. He is currently serving as the Senator for Kisumu County. Nyong'o took teaching positions at the University of Nairobi where he was a professor of political science and a visiting professor in universities in Mexico and Addis Ababa where he served until 1987, before taking up the position of head of programs at the African Academy of Sciences.
His political career dates back to 1992 when he was first elected to parliament. He served as a nominated MP from 1998 to 2002. He is credited with actively engaging in the movement for Kenya's second liberation during the previous KANU regime.
From October to December of 2013, Nyong'o was a Brundtland Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In this role, he taught a course in the Department of Global Health and Population titled, "Leadership Development in Global Health and Policy-Making in Kenya: The Case of Four Parastatals." During this time, he also participated as a speaker on Voices in Leadership, a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health webcast series, in a session titled, "Linking Poverty Reduction to Improved Access to Health Care: Experiences from Kenya.".
Politics
He is the Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement and was the acting party leader from March 11 until late May when Raila Odinga was in the USA and was elected to the National Assembly of Kenya in the December 2007 parliamentary election, representing the Kisumu Rural Constituency. Currently, he is a member of the Kenyan Senate Representing Kisumu County since March 4, 2013 having been elected on an ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) Party ticket.
Membership
He is a former Member of Parliament for Kisumu Rural constituency having been elected on a NARC ticket in the December 2002.