Joyce Cherono Abonyo (née Laboso; 25 November 1960 – 29 July 2019) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second governor of

Bomet County Bomet County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Initially a district, Bomet District was created from the former Kericho District in 1992. The capital of Bomet County is Bomet. It has a population of 875,689 in 2019 and a ...

from 2017 until her death on 29 July 2019. She was a Member of Parliament representing Sotik constituency, before she was elected to the gubernatorial seat. She was married to Dr. Edwin Abonyo, and had two sons. In 2008, she had to drop her husband's name and revert to Laboso because her marital status to a man from another community provided ammunition for her detractors to degrade her in her political journey.

Political Life

Joyce Laboso was elected to the

Parliament of Kenya The Parliament of Kenya is the bicameral legislature of Kenya. It is based at Parliament Buildings (Kenya), Parliament Buildings in Nairobi and consists of two houses: *Senate of Kenya, Senate (upper house) *National Assembly (Kenya), The National ...

to represent the

Sotik Constituency Sotik Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya established for the 1997 elections. It is one of five constituencies in Bomet County. Sotik has one major river, River Kipsonoi. Sotik is also a hilly place with the main crops being grown ar ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 25 September 2008. She succeeded her sister,

Lorna Laboso Lorna Chepkemoi Laboso (8 November 1961 – 10 June 2008) was a Kenyan Politician born in Kericho District of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). She was briefly a Member of Parliament and Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the ...

, who died in a plane crash. A nominee of the

Jubilee Party The Jubilee Party of Kenya was the ruling political party of the Republic of Kenya from 2016 until 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee ...

, she beat 11 other contestants after she garnered 23,880 with a vote margin of 10,000 over her closest challenger, retired Brigadier Alexander Sitienei (a former aide to

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

) who received 13,843 votes. She was the ACP Co-president of the

ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union (the Members of the European Parliament) and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states ("ACP c ...

. She worked as a lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at

Egerton University Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya. Location The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. Th ...

and served as a Commissioner of the National Commission on

Gender and Development Gender and development is an interdisciplinary field of research and applied study that implements a Feminism, feminist approach to understanding and addressing the disparate impact that economic development and globalization have on people based up ...

. Laboso was one of three first female governors in Kenya, along with Kitui County Governor

Charity Ngilu Charity Kaluki Ngilu (born 28 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician and the second governor elected for Kitui County. She unsuccessfully vied to be President of the Republic of Kenya in 1997. She served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 200 ...

and Kirinyaga County Governor

Anne Waiguru Anne Mumbi Waiguru, EGH, (born 16 April 1971) is the second Governor of Kirinyaga County in Kenya, who has been in office since 22 August 2017. She was re-elected to office as Governor for her second 5 year term in the elections that were held ...

. Laboso beat Isaac Rutto, the incumbent who had joined NASA Coalition. Rutto later conceded defeat in public.

Personal life

Laboso was first diagnosed with cancer in 1991. According to her husband, Edwin, Laboso managed to survive cancer for 28 years. The disease struck her again severely in March 2019. The family sought medical attention both in the UK and India, unfortunately, the doctors informed them that nothing much could be done to save the governor's life. She later succumbed to cancer on 29 July 2019 at Nairobi Hospital. A requiem service for her was conducted on 2 August 2019 and her burial was held at her home in Fort Ternan, Kisumu County on 3 August 2019.

References

1960 births 2019 deaths 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians Deaths from cancer in Kenya Jubilee Party politicians Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) County Governors of Kenya People from Bomet County {{Kenya-politician-stub