Known by his nickname "Uncle Moody," Arthur Moody Awori served as Kenya's ninth vice president from September 25, 2003, to January 9, 2008.

Canon Jeremiah Awori and Mariamu Awori welcomed Arthur Moody Awori into the world in Butere, the capital of the erstwhile Butere/Mumias District. He was one of their sixteen offspring, many of whom went on to occupy various high positions in the medical field, politics, and other fields.

Infancy saw the death of Awori's older brother, Musa, from a snake bite. W.W.W. Awori, his elder brother, was a Legislative Council member in the 1950s. In the 2001 presidential elections, his younger brother Aggrey Awori, a politician in Uganda, finished third. Mary Okello, his sister, founded the Makini Schools and serves as its CEO.

In 1978, in Nairobi Hospital, his brother, Professor Nelson Wanyama Awori, led the team that successfully completed the first kidney transplant in Black Africa. Hannington Ochwada Awori, another brother, was one of Kenya's first civil engineers.

In 1935, he attended Mang'u High School before transferring to Kakamega School. He then went on to study in Uganda at Makerere University.

In 1983, he was chosen to serve as a member of parliament for the first time, representing the Funyula Constituency in the Western Province's Busia District. He held many assistant ministerial roles under President Daniel arap Moi.