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Here are 10 things you didn’t know about deceased Governor Laboso


Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso died on Monday at Nairobi hospital, hours after her family confirmed that she had been admitted in ICU at Nairobi Hospital.

The governor returned to the country two weeks ago after a two-month stay in India and the United Kingdom seeking treatment for an undisclosed condition.

Here are 10 things to know about Dr Laboso.

1. Governor Laboso was the first born in a family of six — four boys and two girls.

“As a first born child, I used to solve problems within the family. I was the voice of reason, an arbiter, whenever my brothers and sisters had a conflict. That was my first test of leadership,” she said in a previous interview.

2. She was the head girl at Molo Primary School and later joined Kenya High School where she was a senior prefect.

3. She studied her undergraduate degree at Kenyatta University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Arts (French, Literature and Education). She later pursued her Masters at University of Reading and doctorate at University of Hull both in the United Kingdom.

4. The deceased governor was married to Edwin Abonyo, a former manager at Finlays Kenya. Her marriage to a Luo was used by her political rivals to campaign against her gubernatorial candidature.

5. Dr Laboso is the mother of sons, Bryan and Ted. Her first born is in Australia, while the second born is training to be a pilot in South Africa. She adopted the son of her deceased sister who sat for his KCSE at Kabarak High in 2016.

6. She was a lecturer at Egerton University before joining politics. She worked as a lecturer teaching French language in the Language and Linguistics department.

7. Joyce Laboso joined politics following the death of her sister Lorna Laboso who died in a plane crash in June 10, 2008. She replaced her sister as the Sotik MP in a by-election.

She later constructed Lorna Laboso Memorial School, an ultra-modern girl’s school, in memory of her sister.

8. Dr Laboso had a love for African music and would dance rhumba for hours. She also loved working out and would spend hours in the gym. She also loved reading and her favourite book was ‘From Third World to First’ by deceased Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.

9. On life after politics, she had seen herself spending her time writing books. She was keen on writing an autobiography.

10. Governor Laboso spent two months in India and the United Kingdom seeking treatment for an undisclosed condition. She died on Monday at Nairobi Hospital.