This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Kenyan MP Ken Okoth has lost his battle with colorectal cancer, a disease he had been fighting for months. Okoth's death marks the third time a member of the 12th Parliament has succumbed to cancer.
Okoth's health struggles were evident when he was sworn in to the 12th Parliament with an oxygen tank strapped to his body. He was serving his third term as the Member of Parliament for Kibra Constituency and the Minority leader in the 11th Parliament.
Okoth is not the first MP to die of cancer in the 12th Parliament. Francis Nyenze, a Kitui West MP and KANU-era Cabinet Minister, died of colon cancer in December 2017, after a nearly decade-long battle with the disease. He was 60 years old.
Another MP, Grace Kipchoim, who was the Baringo South MP, passed away in April last year while undergoing treatment in a Nairobi Hospital. She was diagnosed with colon cancer at stage four and underwent at least five operations in and outside Kenya.
Juja MP Francis Munyua Waititu, who was also battling cancer, spoke out about the stigma associated with the disease in Kenya. He said many public figures were suffering from cancer in silence, partly due to the stigma.
“It is no longer a secret that many people are suffering in silence from cancer. Nobody wants to talk about it because of the stigma,” Waititu said. He added: “The situation is serious. We have for example about 63 MPs (from the National Assembly and the Senate) and thousands of other Kenyans suffering from cancer. We must get out and talk about it boldly,” he said.
Waititu also highlighted the struggles faced by Kenyans seeking cancer treatment in India, where many are forced to sleep in the streets after running out of money.
