Former cabinet minister Cyrus Jirongo who has passed on after being involved in a grisly road accident in Naivasha.
Kenya has been plunged into mourning following the passing on of former cabinet minister and the one-time Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo. He was 64 years old.
Jirongo was reportedly involved in a grisly road accident in Naivasha, Nakuru County early on Saturday morning.
The veteran politician announced his arrival into the murky world of politics in 1992 when he mobilized a group of youthful Kenyans to campaign for the then President Daniel Arap Moi’s amid stiff competition from the opposition.
The YK- 92 as the group was called saved Moi just in time as the President defeated a divided opposition.
In 1997, Jirongo joined elective politics when he was elected as Lugari MP on a KANU party ticket. He would later be appointed by Moi as regional development assistant minister during KANU’s sunset days in power.
Jirongo would be swept away by the Narc political tsunami of 2002 as he lost the seat to Dr Enoch Kibunguchy. However, he made a return to Parliament in 2007 only to be defeated again in 2013.
In 2017, he unsuccessfully ran for President when he performed dismally.
President William Ruto with former cabinet minister Cyrus Jirongo in a past function. PHOTO | FACEBOOK
During the 2022 general election, Jirongo ran for the Kakamega County Governor position but lost to ODM’s Fernandes Barasa.
Since then, he has kept a very low public profile, leaving many speculating on his political future even as 2027 politics continue to gain momentum.
From being a close ally of President William Ruto during their days in KANU, Jirongo recently became a fierce critic of the Head of State with the duo’s relationship becoming increasingly frosty.
