Former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo dies in early-morning crash along Nairobi–Nakuru highway
Relatives and friends said the former MP was driving himself and was alone in the vehicle. Earlier, Jirongo had met a group of Western leaders in Karen, Nairobi.
Former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo has died in a road crash in Karai, Naivasha, Nakuru County, along the Nairobi–Nakuru highway.
According to Rift Valley Traffic Enforcement Officer Sarah Chumo, Jirongo, 64, passed away on Saturday morning at around 3:00 am after his car collided head-on with a 65-seater Climax Coach bus.
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Jirongo died instantly at the scene. His body was taken to a local mortuary, with arrangements underway to transfer it to Nairobi.
Relatives and friends said the former MP was driving himself and was alone in the vehicle. Earlier, Jirongo had met a group of Western leaders in Karen, Nairobi.
Leading the tributes, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka mourned Jirongo, saying, “Death has robbed us of one of our greatest sons. Rest in peace, Cyrus Jirongo.”
Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli also expressed grief, stating: “This morning, with a lot of shock and sadness, I have learnt of the passing on of Cyrus Jirongo, who was an asset to our community and Kenya. We loved him, but God loved him more.”
Jirongo’s life and career
Jirongo, a businessman-turned-politician, was born on March 21, 1961 and attended Mang’u High School from 1978 to 1981.
He rose to national prominence in 1992 as leader of Youth for KANU ’92, a lobby group formed to support President Daniel arap Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections.
The group was influential in mobilisation and fundraising, establishing Jirongo as one of the most prominent young political figures of the early 1990s.
In 1991, before holding elective office, Jirongo served as chairman of AFC Leopards Football Club, which boosted his public profile beyond politics.
He was first elected MP for Lugari in 1997 and appointed Minister for Rural Development in President Moi’s final KANU government in 2002.
Jirongo lost his parliamentary seat in the 2002 elections but regained it in 2007 under his own party, the Kenya African Democratic Development Union, remaining its only MP until 2013.
He later pursued higher political ambitions, including an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2017 under the United Democratic Party, and a failed Kakamega governor race.
His party subsequently joined the Azimio la Umoja coalition ahead of the 2022 elections.
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