NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 27 \u2013 Former Jubilee vice chairperson David Murathe has credited the late Cyrus Jirongo with playing a decisive role in shaping Kenya\u2019s political succession, saying it was Jirongo\u2019s persistent pressure on former President Daniel Arap Moi that ultimately paved the way for Uhuru Kenyatta to ascend to the presidency.<\/p>\n
Speaking during Jirongo\u2019s requiem mass, Murathe described the former Lugari MP as a visionary political strategist whose influence has often been misunderstood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is Jirongo who made Uhuru president. He stuck bumper to bumper with Nyayo at a time when many powerful forces were fighting that outcome,\u201d Murathe said.<\/p>\n
He recalled the turbulent succession politics of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when several senior leaders were positioning themselves as Moi\u2019s preferred successor.<\/p>\n
According to Murathe, Jirongo relentlessly pushed Moi to the point where the retired president publicly declared Kenyatta as his choice during a rally in Mt Elgon.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cEverybody was saying \u2018I\u2019m the oneSaitoti, Kalonzo, Musalia, Ngala but Jirongo pushed Nyayo until he announced it. After that, everything collapsed,\u201d Murathe said.<\/p>\n
Beyond politics, Murathe portrayed Jirongo as a big thinker with an expansive global outlook highlighting the mega development deals he was pursuing in Uganda and Libya before his death.<\/p>\n
He cited projects ranging from reconstruction plans for Libya to real estate developments in Ruai and carbon credit initiatives in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cCyrus worked out big, big deals some real, some in the sky but give him a pen and paper and he would craft a multi-billion-dollar idea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Murathe said Jirongo\u2019s overriding concern was national stability and visionary leadership, even when that meant stepping on powerful toes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved that this country be stable and that its leadership think beyond the present,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a personal reflection, Murathe revealed he had spoken to Jirongo just a day before the fatal accident, exchanging light-hearted messages and holiday wishes when he alerted him on controversies posted on one of his fake Facebook accounts.<\/p>\n
. \u201cI\u2019m sure wherever he is, he\u2019s smiling down at us. He has rested, and God\u2019s time is always final,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Murathe acknowledged lingering questions surrounding Jirongo\u2019s death but urged acceptance despite all the issues raised.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may not understand everything, but we do not question God\u2019s will. What we know is that we have lost a hero and a visionary leader,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jirongo will be laid to rest in Lumakanda in Kakamega county where political leaders, friends and supporters are expected to attend the final resting journey.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 27 \u2013 Former Jubilee vice chairperson David Murathe has credited the late Cyrus Jirongo with playing a decisive role in shaping Kenya\u2019s political succession, saying it was Jirongo\u2019s persistent pressure on former President Daniel Arap Moi that ultimately paved the way for Uhuru Kenyatta to ascend to the presidency. Speaking during Jirongo\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}