NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 30 — Former Cabinet minister and veteran politician Cyrus Jirongo will be laid to rest today at his Lumakanda home in Lugari, Kakamega County, in accordance with Tiriki cultural rites, following funeral services and family rituals held over the past week.
The burial follows a service at his Kitale residence, after which his body was transported to Lumakanda for an overnight vigil ahead of the final interment.
Jirongo, 64, died on December 13, 2025, when the Mercedes-Benz vehicle he was driving collided head-on with an oncoming passenger bus along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway near Karai in Naivasha in the early hours of the morning.
The late politician, who served as Lugari Member of Parliament and held Cabinet positions in former President Daniel arap Moi’s administration, was a prominent and often controversial figure in Kenyan politics.
Burial committee chairperson and former Westlands MP Fred Gumo said preparations for the funeral were proceeding as planned, even as calls persist for clarity over the circumstances surrounding Jirongo’s death.
“We have a lot of questions because we don’t know what happened. All we want is investigations so that the family can be at peace,” Gumo said, echoing sentiments from family members and close associates seeking more information on the fatal crash.
Public attention has focused on the events leading up to the accident, with some leaders and relatives urging a comprehensive probe as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) continues to examine evidence, including CCTV footage from near the scene.
Earlier postmortem findings indicated that Jirongo died from severe blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, injuries consistent with the impact of the collision.
The burial marks the end of a week of mourning for the former minister, whose political career spanned decades and left a significant imprint on both national politics and grassroots leadership in Western Kenya.
