7 things you didn't know about Joyce Laboso

mary kulundu

August 9, 2017 6:10 PM

Hers is a story of a woman pushed into politics by family and kept there by passion.

Joyce Laboso is leading in the Bomet gubernatorial race defeating the tough talking Isaac Rutto with an approximate 35% gap between the number of votes.

She is a newbie in the political race, who joined politics to continue a family dream and she’s doing it by surpassing a political heavy weight, the first Chairman of the Council of Governors and the incumbent Governor of Bomet, Isaac Rutto.

Here are seven other things you need to know about this superwoman.

1.She is the former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya.

2.She got into politics to succeed her younger sister, Lorna Laboso, who was the former MP Sotik Constituency after she died in a plane crash alongside the former Minister of Roads, Kipkalya Kones. After the burial rites, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) insisted that Lorna Laboso’s seat and that of Kipkalya Kones be retained within their respective families to honour their contribution to the party’s campaign in the run-up to the 2007 General Election. She won against 11 other contestants in the by elections that were held

3.Word has it that she and her late sister owned a flower exporting business in their home town that is earning her millions a year.

4.Before this, she was a lecturer at Egerton University then became the Dean of Students. She is now the coordinator for Communication and Media, Library and Information Studies programs in the university. Joyce loves languages. She was also teaching French at Egerton.

5.She is happily married to former Finlay's manager Edwin Abonyo and they have three adult children.

6.In 2003 she was tasked with teaching and assessing pupils with special needs, design programs to address pupils’ emotional and behavioural difficulties and liaise with service providers for apprenticeship and work placement.

7.Dr Laboso is also a Member of Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association (KEWOPA), a forum that provides her with an opportunity to mentor women in politics and guides those interested in political offices.