We have said goodbye to many well-known faces from various spheres of life in 2014. Political veteran, former Cabinet minister and long-serving Kanu Secretary General Joseph Kamotho died on December 5 at a South African Hospital after battling kidney failure and high blood pressure for a long time. Popularly known as JJ, the 72-year-old was first elected to Parliament in 1974 as MP for Kangema. He served as minister for Higher Education, Transport and Communication, Trade, Local Government and Environment. JJ will be remembered as a vocal and hawkish no-holds-barred spokesman of the then ruling party Kanu.
Outspoken Homa Bay Senator Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ died when he was only 55. He died on Tuesday November 18 at Mater Hospital in Nairobi due to cardiac arrest. The family said the former Immigration minister developed breathing complications at his Runda home and was rushed to his personal physician at Mater. The ever smiling politician will be best remembered for his trademark Bado Mapambano (the struggle continues) slogan, which became the Orange party’s de facto anthem in campaigns for the 2007 general election.
Literary icon
The National Women’s cricket team captain, Emily Ruto, died on Friday October 24. Twenty five-year-old Emily, daughter to Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, had been battling leukaemia following her diagnosis in 2013. She was not only the national women’s cricket team captain but the all-rounder was also a bowler, a wicketkeeper, a fielder, a batter and an umpire.
Guyo Halake, a former Moyale MP, was shot four times outside his Butiye home in Moyale town on October 22. Halake served as MP between 1979 and 1983 and was a key member of the Francis Kaparo peace commission set up by President Uhuru Kenyatta to initiate talks between warring communities in North Eastern Kenya.
Gatundu South MP Joseph Ngugi Nyumu died on May 21 at the age of 43. He was pronounced dead at the Nairobi Hospital clinic in Gigiri, where he was rushed after collapsing in his bathroom. He was a first-time legislator of Gatundu South.
Renowned Kenyan scholar Prof Ali Mazrui, one of Africa’s leading intellectuals who influenced a post-colonial generation, died on October 12 in New York, USA, after being unwell for several months. Mazrui dominated the field of African studies through 26 internationally acclaimed books and hundreds of articles, essays, interviews and appearances on radio and television programmes. He was 81 when he died.
Mr Moneybags
The curtains on the life of former Limuru MP Kuria Kanyingi, who is best remembered for his flamboyant lifestyle that saw him conduct high profile fund-raisers and contributing large amounts of money, came down on November 4. The 71-year-old politician succumbed to colon cancer while undergoing treatment at an Indian Hospital. Popularly known as “Mr Moneybags”, the late politician once served as the director of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit. He also served as Limuru MP between 2002 and 2007.
Former Foreign Affairs minister Dr Njoroge Mungai made his final bow on August 16 at Nairobi Hospital where he had been receiving treatment aged 88. He was also a personal physician of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta. President Kenyatta described him as an iconic leader with fierce loyalty and unwavering patriotism. The President was a poll bearer during Dr Mungai’s requiem mass.
General Jackson Kimeu Mulinge, who served as the longest Chief of General Staff of the Kenyan military, died on June 16 after battling a long illness. Mulinge, 91 when he died, served diligently under presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. He successfully crushed two attempted coups during his tenure as a top military officer.
Gospel musician Peter Kaberere died on April 6 after being electrocuted at his car wash. The singer, well known for his 2011 hit Kiburi ni cha nini? was an operations manager at Mo Sound Limited, the company that hosts the annual gospel awards, Groove Awards.
Source-standardmedia.co.ke
Well-known faces: Prominent Kenyans who died in 2014
