People Daily Reporter @PeopleDailyKe
Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso lost the battle with cancer yesterday afternoon, barely two weeks after returning to the country from abroad for treatment.
Her death from colon cancer came just three days after that of Kibra MP Ken Okoth, aged 41 from colorectal cancer with metastases to the liver. Earlier this month, Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia.
Laboso’s husband Edwin Abonyo recounted the difficult time they faced during the entire period she was ailing and lauded the government for support as well as friends and well-wishers who stood with the family.
According to the family, the 58-year-old passed on at the Nairobi Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, where she had been admitted shortly after 2pm.
Laboso was flown to the United Kingdom on May 29 upon diagnosis and admitted to the same London hospital where Collymore had been a patient. Following treatment and with her prognosis looking downbeat and her medical team giving her just 45 days to live, prompting her family to transfer her to India on June 29 to the BLK Cancer Special Hospital in New Delhi where she spent three weeks. She returned to the country on July 14 after responding adversely to chemotherapy, which had been administered on July 8.
Restricted visits
But even as doctors at the Nairobi Hospital had earlier issued orders restricting visits to the governor, a statement from her office through the director of communications Ezra Kirui had sounded slightly more upbeat, pointing out that the governor was recuperating but still under observation.
And as the news of her death broke and quickly spread, family, friends, constituents and politicians, among them Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga rushed to the Lee Funeral Home where her body had been moved.
President Uhuru Kenyatta led Kenyans in mourning the fallen governor, describing Laboso as in icon of women leadership.
“I have received the sad news of the passing away of Bomet Governor Dr Joyce Laboso with utter disbelief. Dr Laboso was an icon of women leadership in our country…” he said.
Ruto said he had visited Laboso on Sunday and they spoke about several issues.
“God has finally rested Joyce because she has been under a lot of pain. Let us stand with the family at this difficult time,” he said, adding that the government would take over funeral arrangements.
Raila said Laboso’s death was a blow to devolved governance having served her constituents with dedication.
Laboso was first elected as Member of Parliament for Sotik in 2008 in a by-election, following the death of her sister, Lorna, in a plane crash in June, the same year. She was elected on ODM ticket for the remainder of the parliamentary term, before switching to the Ruto- led United Republican Party (URP) following a fallout between Ruto and Raila.
Laboso was a suave, tactful and aggressive politician. While in ODM, she teamed up with Rachel Shebesh, now Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs and current North Suba MP, Millie Odhiambo, forming the indomitable trio that spearheaded the Orange party’s Women’s League and fiercely defended Raila, within and outside Parliament.
The trio was so vocal that at some point they were referred to as ODM leader’s “flower girls”. But Laboso, in conformity with the political environment, eased herself out of the Orange boat to join URP and rode back to Parliament for a second term.
And she subsequently threw her energy in Uhuru’s presidential campaign in 2013 with the same gusto, exhibiting full loyalty to the Jubilee Coalition’s cause. This earned her Deputy Speaker’s slot in the National Assembly.
In the 2017 General Election, she set her sights higher, challenging and successfully flooring seasoned politician, Isaac Ruto of the Chama cha Mashinani party and first chairman of the Council of Governors.
She was among the three women, alongside Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), who won seats as governors out of the 47 counties in the hotly-contested General Election.
A master at building bridges, Laboso quickly buried the hatchet with her predecessor Ruto and the two are said to enjoy the good working relationship.
Urgent legislation
Similarly, Laboso enjoyed cordial relations with Raila who visited her in UK where she was hospitalised.
Laboso was married to Abonyo, and the couple had three sons. Before joining politics, she worked as a lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at Egerton University.
Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka said there is need for an urgent legislation on cancer management following the increased cases.
Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o who himself has been treated for cancer said: “I hope we find a solution so that we don’t continue losing people to cancer.”
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko said there are more than 60 MPs who are battling cancer and called on leaders to sit and strategise on how to go about tackling the disease he termed a monster.”
