Fiery and political straight-talker Cyrus Jirongo killed in a road crash in Naivasha
Former Lugari Member of Parliament (MP) Cyrus Jirongo is dead.
Jirongo died today at dawn following a road accident that occurred in Karai area, Naivasha, Nakuru County.
The politician who rose to fame during the YK-92 during the late former President Daniel ara Moi’s era died aged 64 years.
Preliminary police findings Jirongo died after his Mercedes Benz vehicle collided with a Climax Coach bus on the busy Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.
Born on March 21, 1961, in Lugari, Cyrus Shakhalaga Khwa Jirongo joined politics and rose to the national scene in 1992 as the youthful face of the ruling party’s campaign machinery.
As leader of the Youth for KANU ’92 movement, he mobilized young voters to support President Daniel arap Moi’s party during Kenya’s historic transition to multiparty democracy.
His organisational skills and political acumen earned him a parliamentary seat five years later when voters in Lugari Constituency elected him as their MP in 1997.
President Moi appointed the politician as Minister for Rural Development in March 2002, just months before that year’s general election.
Jirongo’s tenure in cabinet was short-lived, lasting only until December when KANU lost power to the opposition NARC coalition.
Jirongo launched his own party, the Kenya African Democratic Development Union (KADDU), and mounted a successful comeback campaign in 2007 to reclaim his Lugari seat
Throughout his time in public life, Jirongo remained a popular figure in Western Kenya, known for his ability to connect with ordinary voters and his commitment to rural development issues.
More to follow…
