Kenya has lost one of its veteran politicians following the tragic death of former Lugari Member of Parliament Cyrus Jirongo in a road accident on Saturday morning.
The 64-year-old politician died at approximately 3:00 a.m. when his vehicle collided head-on with a 45-seater bus on the busy Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.
Police reports indicate that Jirongo was alone in his car, driving to his rural home in Lugari at the time of the fatal crash.
Rift Valley traffic enforcement officer Sarah Chumo confirmed the accident, though details about the circumstances leading to the collision remain under investigation.
Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has mourned the politician, stating, "Death has robbed us one of our greatest sons. Rest in peace, Hon. Cyrus Jirongo."
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Jirongo's death marks the end of a political career that spanned more than three decades in Kenyan politics.
Born on March 21, 1961, in Lugari, Cyrus Shakhalaga Khwa Jirongo entered 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 organizational 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, which he held until 2013.
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.
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