National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has recounted his
final meeting with veteran politician and businessman Cyrus Jirongo, revealing
that the two spoke at length just hours before the accident that claimed
Jirongo’s life.
Speaking after news of Jirongo’s death emerged, Wetang’ula
said he had met the former Lugari MP on the evening of Jamhuri Day, describing
the encounter as an ordinary conversation that later took on profound
significance.
“Yesterday, we concluded the Jamhuri Day celebrations. A
prominent politician called Cyrus Jirongo phoned me and said, ‘Papa, I want us
to meet,’” Wetang’ula said.
“I sat with him from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm, then I left.”
According to the Speaker, the meeting ended without any
indication that it would be their last.
Wetang’ula said he excused himself to go rest ahead of a
planned trip the following day.
“I told him I was going to rest because the next day I was
travelling to Mazeras,” he said.
Wetang’ula said he only learnt of Jirongo’s death the next
morning after waking up to messages on his phone.
“This morning, I woke up, opened my phone and saw messages
saying, ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry—Jirongo has died," he said.
Jirongo, a former Cabinet minister and influential figure in
Kenyan politics, died in a road accident on Saturday morning.
The accident occurred along the Nakuru- Naivasha Highway.
According to the police report, Jirongo was driving from the
Nakuru direction heading towards the Nairobi direction before colliding head-on
with a passenger bus.
In his remarks, Wetang’ula reflected on the fragility of
life, saying the sudden loss underscored how quickly circumstances can change.
“And that is the reality of human life. Today you are here,
tomorrow you are gone,” he said, adding that the unpredictability of death is
“the secret God has kept from human beings.”
The Speaker described Jirongo as a seasoned politician whose
career spanned several decades, noting that his passing marked the end of an
era for a generation of leaders who played key roles in shaping Kenya’s
political landscape.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced as the family,
friends and political allies came to terms with the loss.
Jirongo rose to national prominence in 1992 as the leader of Youth for KANU
92, a powerful political lobby group formed to support late President Daniel
arap Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections.
The group played a major role in mobilisation and
fundraising and made Jirongo one of the most influential young political
figures of the early 1990s.
