By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
Kenya, December 14 2025 - When National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula picked up his phone on Friday night, he thought it was just another familiar voice reaching out after a long day of national celebrations.
“Papa, can we meet?” asked Cyrus Jirongo — a request so ordinary that Wetang’ula did not imagine it would mark their final conversation.
The two met later that evening in Karen, sharing an hour of casual reflection, political banter and the comfortable ease that comes with decades of friendship. By 9.30pm, Wetang’ula excused himself, saying he needed rest ahead of a funeral in Kilifi the next morning. They parted with no sense of urgency, no hint that anything was amiss.
But at dawn, Wetang’ula woke to a string of messages all bearing the same devastating news: Jirongo had died in a road crash on the Nairobi–Nakuru highway.
Speaking at a funeral in Mazeras, the Speaker described the moment as a harsh reminder of life’s fragility. “Today you are here, tomorrow you are gone,” he said, calling death’s timing “the secret God has kept from human beings.”
A Deadly Night on a Treacherous Road
Police reports place the crash at around 3am in Karai, Naivasha — a stretch long associated with high-speed night travel and frequent collisions. Jirongo was driving his white Mercedes-Benz towards Nairobi when it collided head-on with a passenger bus carrying 65 people.
Investigators say he veered out of his lane moments before impact. The bus driver, Tirus Kamau, later told officers that the Mercedes appeared suddenly in his path. With dozens of passengers behind him, he chose to keep the bus steady rather than swerve into danger. “I decided to save the 65 people,” he said at Naivasha Police Station.
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Jirongo died at the scene. His body was taken to Naivasha Sub-County Morgue before being transferred to Nairobi.
A Political Figure Whose Influence Endures
At 64, Jirongo remained a familiar name in Kenyan politics. From leading Youth for KANU ’92 to serving as Lugari MP and a Cabinet minister, he carved out a career marked by boldness, charisma and strategic daring.
His death has prompted tributes from across the political divide, all recalling a man who left a lasting imprint on Kenya’s political landscape.
For Wetang’ula, however, the memory is painfully personal: a simple evening meeting that unknowingly became a farewell.
