This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
Ken Okoth, the Kibra MP who passed away on July 26, 2019, will be cremated in a private function in Nairobi. The family has announced that the body will be transported to Kasipul Kabondo constituency on Saturday for a funeral service at Rateng' Secondary School at 10am.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga spoke to the press at a Nairobi hotel, indicating that the family will be allowed to perform the final rites after the service. 'Ken will be given to the family to do the rest…just like we did with Kenneth Matiba…so the family will do the rest,' Raila said.
Okoth had been battling with Stage 4 colorectal cancer and had sought treatment in France, residing in Paris for about five months. He had expressed his struggles with cancer care in Kenya, saying, 'I could not afford the US because it was too expensive. My wife is from Europe, where the cost is more affordable and I could get a residence permit quickly for the duration of the treatment. Sadly, not everyone is as lucky; we need to make cancer care in Kenya a national priority.'
Okoth made his final public appearance at the annual Kibra Music Festival earlier this month before his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to the ICU. His family revealed that they obliged to his earlier request that the life support machines be switched off.
