BY MANUEL ODENY
President William Ruto has joined other Kenyans in mourning former Lugar MP Cyrus Jirongo who passed on earlier in a tragic road accident.
Jirongo’s body was moved to Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi after the 64 years old politician was involved in a head on collision while driving a Mercedes-Benz vehicle model from Nakuru towards Nairobi.
He was involved in an accident with with another truck owned by Climax Company at Karai area along the Nakuru–Naivasha highway at around 3 am.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time, Ruto said,
The president termed the ex-legislator as a “relentless go-getter, a seasoned businessman, and a consummate politician who refused to be defined, let alone defeated, by life’s challenges.
“He was a fighter in every sense: blunt yet warm, bold yet approachable, enlightened and endlessly entrepreneurial. Above all, he was generous to a fault,” he added.
His eulogy showed the deep connection the two had especially as both their ambitions have shaped the country’s political landscape for decades, leaving behind a legacy marked by ambition, controversy, and resilience.
Jirongo rose to national prominence in 1992 as the leader of Youth for KANU 92, a powerful political lobby group formed to support President Daniel arap Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections. and by then Ruto was his aide.
Shortened the YK92, it was formed to support then-Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi in the country’s first multiparty elections in 1992 through allegedly using state funds for vote buying, intimidating the opposition, and being involved in ethnic violence.
Born on the 21st of March 1961 in Lugari, Kakamega County. He attended Mang’u High School between 1978 and 1981. He later graduated from the University of Egerton in 1986 and later studied Business Administration at Cambridge University, United Kingdom (UK)..
He also served as chairman of AFC Leopards Football Club in 1991, but he was best known for his political organising skills and association with several business ventures.
His business star though refused to shine of late after being dragged in many court cases over unpaid debts and was even declared bankrupt at one point.
He was first elected in parliament in 1997, in 2002, President Moi appointed him Minister for Rural Development in the final KANU government.
He lost his parliamentary seat in the 2002 general election but regained it in 2007 under his own party, the Kenya African Democratic Development Union.
In 2013, Jirongo expressed interest in the presidency but eventually ran unsuccessfully for the Kakamega Senate seat.
He supported Raila Odinga in the presidential race. In 2017, he contested the presidency under the United Democratic Party but received a very small share of the national vote a time they had a public spat with the President.
