Cyrus Shakhalanga Jirongo liked to tell his own story. He often described himself as the son of a pastor who rose, before the age of 30, into wealth and power few of his peers could imagine. By the 1990s, he was at the centre of Kenya’s political machine. By the time of his death on 13 December 2025, he had lived several political lives.
Mr Jirongo, a former Cabinet minister and longtime Lugari Member of Parliament, died in a road accident at the age of 64. His passing marked the end of a career closely tied to the rise and decline of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), and to the rule of President Daniel arap Moi.
Born on 21 March 1961, Jirongo attended Mang’u High School in the late 1970s. He spoke often of humble beginnings, though he rarely lingered on the details. What followed was a swift climb that made him one of the most recognisable political figures of the early 1990s.
His national breakthrough came in 1992, when he emerged as the face of Youth for KANU ’92, the lobby group tasked with rallying young voters behind President Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections. The group was energetic, lavishly funded and controversial. To supporters, it was effective. To critics, it embodied excess and political muscle.
By his early 30s, Jirongo publicly claimed to have amassed immense wealth, a statement that fed both fascination and suspicion. He did not shy away from the image. It became part of his legend.
His influence stretched beyond politics. In 1991, he briefly served as chairman of AFC Leopards, one of Kenya’s most popular football clubs, further raising his profile. In 1997, he won the Lugari parliamentary seat, cementing his place in national politics.
At the tail end of KANU’s rule, President Moi appointed him Minister for Rural Development in 2002. It would be his only Cabinet post. That same year, he lost his parliamentary seat as KANU was swept from power.
Jirongo was never away for long. He returned to Parliament in 2007 under his own party, becoming its sole MP. He later flirted with higher office, backing Raila Odinga in 2013 while unsuccessfully contesting the Kakamega Senate seat. In 2017, he mounted a full presidential bid under the United Democratic Party, finishing far down the ballot.
Though his later campaigns yielded little electoral success, he remained politically active. His party aligned with the Azimio la Umoja coalition ahead of the 2022 elections, and he continued to appear at rallies and by-elections until shortly before his death.
Away from politics, Jirongo’s life was equally expansive. He was polygamous, with four wives from different communities. In 2025, he suffered a personal loss when one of his daughters, Elizabeth Khalamwa, died after a short illness. He is survived by several children.
To admirers, Cyrus Jirongo was bold, daring and unapologetic — a man who bent politics to his will at a young age. To critics, he symbolised the excesses of an era Kenya has struggled to leave behind. Either way, his story is woven deeply into the country’s modern political history.