This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
Dr Joyce Laboso, a trailblazer in education and politics, was born on November 25, 1961, in Bomet County.
Her educational journey began at Kaplong and Molo Primary Schools, followed by Kenya High Girls Secondary School. She then pursued her undergraduate degree at Kenyatta University from 1980 to 1983, earning a Bachelor of Education in Arts, French, Literature, and Education.
Laboso furthered her education at the Universite Paul Valery in Montpellier, France, where she obtained a postgraduate diploma in French language teaching. She later pursued her Master's degree at the University of Reading and her PhD at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.
Dr Laboso's professional career spanned teaching, lecturing, and politics. She was a high school teacher at Kipsigis Girls' High School and later became a lecturer at Egerton University, eventually rising to the position of dean.
From 2003 to 2006, she served as a special needs lecturer at Farrow House Education Center in Hull, United Kingdom. In 2007, Laboso became the coordinator of communication and media, library, and information studies programs at Egerton University.
She worked as a lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at Egerton University and served as a Commissioner of the National Commission on Gender and Development.
Dr Laboso's entry into politics began in 2008, when she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Sotik Constituency in a by-election held on September 25, 2008. She succeeded her sister, Lorna Laboso, who died in a plane crash on June 10, 2008.
In 2013, Laboso was elected as the first female Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly after the general election. On August 8, 2017, she defeated Isaac Ruto and took office on August 22, 2017.
Dr Laboso was one of three first female governors in Kenya, along with Charity Ngilu and Anne Waiguru. She served in the Council of Governors committees as chair of the finance and education committees and was also the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
President Kenyatta paid tribute to Dr Laboso, saying she would be remembered for her passion in education, particularly for the girl-child. He noted that she initiated and supported numerous projects not just in Bomet but across the entire country.
