Cyrus Jirongo: Inside the life of flamboyant and polygamous politician
Cyrus Jirongo was born on the 21st of March 1961 in Lugari, Kakamega County. He attended Mang’u High School between 1978 and 1981. He later graduated from the University of Egerton in 1986.
Veteran politician Cyrus Jirongo was a key figure in Kenya’s political landscape for decades, leaving behind a legacy marked by ambition, controversy, and resilience before his untimely death.
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He became widely known at a young age for his political organising skills rather than for a formal professional background.
The former Lugari Member of Parliament studied Business Administration at Cambridge University, United Kingdom (UK).
Jirongo rose to national prominence in 1992 as the leader of Youth for KANU 92, a powerful political lobby group formed to support President Daniel arap Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections.
At the time, the group played a major role in mobilisation and fundraising, making Jirongo one of the most influential young political figures of the early 1990s. Jirongo previously served as chairman of AFC Leopards Football Club in 1991.
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This role helped raise his public profile beyond politics. During the 1990s, Jirongo was associated with several business ventures, particularly in real estate and agriculture. He publicly claimed to have become a billionaire at a young age.
Over time, however, many of these ventures became heavily indebted, leading to prolonged legal and financial disputes. In 1997, Jirongo was elected Member of Parliament for Lugari Constituency.
In 2002, President Moi appointed him Minister for Rural Development in the final KANU government. He lost his parliamentary seat in the 2002 general election but regained it in 2007 under his own party, the Kenya African Democratic Development Union. Between 2008 and 2013, he was the only Member of Parliament from that party.
In 2013, Jirongo expressed interest in the presidency but eventually ran unsuccessfully for the Kakamega Senate seat. He supported Raila Odinga in the presidential race. In 2017, he contested the presidency under the United Democratic Party but received a very small share of the national vote.
His party later joined the Azimio la Umoja coalition ahead of the 2022 elections. After the election, he publicly congratulated President William Ruto. From the mid-2000s onwards, Jirongo faced mounting debts linked to bank loans and private lenders.
Several courts ruled against him in loan recovery cases. In 2017, the High Court declared him bankrupt after failing to repay loans amounting to hundreds of millions of shillings.
Properties linked to companies associated with him were placed under receivership or auctioned. Courts also ordered him to repay large sums to individuals, including trade unionist Francis Atwoli.
Jirongo is polygamous and has a large family. He has spoken publicly about having wives from different communities. In 2025, he suffered personal tragedy following the death of one of his daughters, Elizabeth Lorraine Khalamwa, after a short illness.
His daughter passed away on March 10, 2025.
