Bomet Governor Dr Joyce Laboso’s husband has revealed why the cancer diagnosis of his deceased wife was kept a secret until her demise.
Speaking to the media at the Lee Funeral Home where the late governor’s body was moved to, her husband d Edwin Abonyo confirmed the public speculations that indeed she has cancer.
He divulged that it was her wish that her health condition remains a private matter. Mr. Abonyo added that Dr. Laboso had suffered for a long time but the family opted to keep the details private.
According to the widower, the governor did not want her ailment to affect her service delivery to the people of Bomet County.
He stated: “She actually suffered for a long time but we kept it under wraps. She did not want it to deter her duty and all the things that she was doing.
“She was very strong and we can only reciprocate that by also being strong for her,” he told.
Mr Abonyo further asked Kenyans and the media to pull back in order to give them space to mourn.
“I humbly ask that you grant us some space to mourn her, it has barely been a few hours since her demise,” he asserted.
He went on to urge the rest of the family and loved ones to remain strong during the mourning period.
“We need to be strong for her, as she was always strong, even during her time of illness,” he disclosed.
News that Dr Laboso has been admitted was highlighted after Opposition leader Raila Odinga and Kenya’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Manoah Esipisu visited her at a hospital in London on June 5, 2019.
However, despite speculations of her wellbeing, the County Director of Communications Ezra Kirui kept reassuring the public of the Governor’s wellness.
Dr. Laboso passed away aged 59.
Her life and service delivery has been widely praised with President Uhuru Kenyatta describing her as an “icon of women leadership in our country.”
Deputy President William Ruto, stated that the country had lost “a courageous, hardworking, very progressive woman leader in Kenya.”