It is a sad day for Bomet residents after their Governor succumbed to cancer. Joyce Laboso had been in hospital for the better part of this year with her condition kept under wraps. Legislators, including her predecessor Isaac Rutto, had visited her when she was hospitalized in the United Kingdom.
She went on to spend 46 days in UK and India where she received specialized treatment before being flown to Kenya. Kenyans hoped she was on the path of recovery and would resume her duties only to learn of her death today.
Family
Joyce Laboso has kept her family out of the public eye. She is married to the little-known Edwin Abonyo. Her marriage to a man from outside her community nearly cost her the gubernatorial seat as her political detractors capitalized on it.
The couple is blessed with three sons. According to multiple online news outlets, Laboso’s first born son, Bryan Ochieng Kibet, works in Australia while her second born was training to be a pilot in South Africa. The couple last born is in university.
The husband had this to say about his wife demise:
”I can say she suffered for a long time but we kept it under wraps. She never wanted her situation to stand in the way of service delivery. She was strong and it is the only way to reciprocate her goodness. We also ask the public to give family time to mourn. We know she’s a people’s person but a little space for mourning is what we request,”
”I thank the president and DP, they have been of great help to us during the treatment period. I just want to thank Bomet people and even Sotik voters for being great to her against all odds.
You accepted to vote for her despite her being married outside Sotik and Bomet. It is time for the family to be strong for her’‘