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NATIONAL NEWS

THE SUNDAY STANDARD. JUNE 15, 2008

SOMETIME in 1980, a woman, her five-year-old son and nine­ year-old nephew set off for Nyanza Province's Migori Dis­trict, from Nairobi.

With fine weather and a good road, the woman, a teacher in a national girls' school in Nai­robi, was sure of reaching her destination on time. But as the family approached Sotik, the car got a flat tyre forcing the travelers off the road.

With little knowledge on changing tyres, two children in the back seat and dusk fast ap­proaching, the woman increas­ingly grew worried as the clock ticked towards 5pm.

As she made frantic efforts to get help, an elderly man in a pick-up van suddenly drove up to the stranded group and of­fered to help.

Since darlmess was fast setting in, the man, a Mr. Fredrick ­boso, offered to take the family to his home where he directed one of his teenage daughters, a friendly girl with a disarming smile, to tend to the visitors. The girl cheerfully took up the task of preparing food, warm­ing bathing water and setting up sleeping place for the tired travellers. Later that night, as the woman settled into bed, the girl appeared at her?0C!r~ way with a mug of hot milo ill her hands.

the Lab050S that stuck in Ida's

Women empowerment same virtue to their daughter Lorna, endearing her to her Sotik constituents.

"She was one of the kindest souls I ever knew, Lorna genu­inely cared about people and wanted to improve the lives of her constituents, n says Ida

Just two days before Lorna died in a plane crash along­side Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones, his bodyguard and the plane's pilot, last week, the two women had met for lunch in Nairobi's Westlands area.

"Thad ameetingwithLomaand Dr Sally Kosgey We discussed ways of improving the .lives of women in their regions," she says. Kosgey is the Aldai MP and Minister for Higher Education Science and Technology. ' Ida's description of a generous woman who defied all odds to become the first Kipsigis wom­an to be elected to Parliament and appointed assistant min­ister is not any different from others who knew her.

During her recent homecom­ing party at her mother's home, about 10,000 people turned up, something Ida found interesting. "I thought it was-unique. Here was a YOWlg woman taking leadership back home to hon­our the people who raised her,"

says Ida.

It was a ceremony that her close friend, Ms Anne Chep­korir, failed to attend and one she will always wish she had. "Lorna had asked me to be there but I couldn't make it be-

"I brought you your night clip," she said, flashing another daz­zling smile as she made sure the woman and her children were comfortable. Unknown to them, the encounter would bind them for the rest of their lives.

About 28 years later, the two women would meet again, this time in different circum­stances. The older woman - Ida Odlnga - would be the chairperson of the League of Kenya Women Voters and wife to Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga while the younger woman, Lorna Laboso, would be a Member of Parliament and an Assistant Minister in the Of­fice of the Vice President.

"I remember many things about Lorna, especially the Interest­ing coincidence that led to our first meeting. I also found out later that Lorna's sister, Joyce, had been one of my students," says Ida.

Dr Joyce Laboso-Abonyo is now a lecturer at Egerton University. At the time of their rust meet­ing, Ida, a teacher at Kenya High School, was married .to Raila and was a daughter-in­law to Jararnogi Oginga Odlnga - then an avowed critic of the Kanu regime, and an opposi­tion leader.

"I didn't know how Mr Laboso would react if he knew who I was. But his reaction was re­markable, even after he knew who I was. He said it didn't

Laboso believed in the empowerment of women and youth.

cause I had to attend to official duties. I talked to her after the function and asked her to send me a video," says Chepkorir. Ida recalls Laboso being in a jo­vial mood during the party; her last among the people she so desired to serve.

At the party, she was in control of the crowds; a traitshe had shown while on the campaign trail. Chepkorir recalls an incident

During the campaigns when La­boso ran into a hostile crowd at Ndanai location. She was booed by supporters of Iormer MP Mr Anthony Kimetto.

But' in her charactertstic fash­ion of preaching forgiveness and holding no grudges, Laboso promised her friend, that if she were elected MP, the location would be among the first where she would initiate development

projects.

Gentle, yetflrru, straightforward and confident) Laboso always spoke her mind and was never one to give up without a fight for a cause she believed in.

Her fighting spirit was perhaps summed up in a statement dur­ing an earlier interview. Said she: "My parents inculcated in us the value of fighting for a worthy cause .without expect

PICTURE: FILE

BY ULUAN ALUANGA