President Uhuru Kenyatta has Kenyan leaders in mourning the late Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama who passed on in the wee hours of Friday morning.
Nyagarama according to his family had been battling COVID-19 and was admitted at the Nairobi Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment.
He was hospitalized for the last three weeks before his demise on Friday. A source said that he was on life support machine although his family on Thursday issued a statement saying that he was on his way to recovery.
Nyagarama died at the age of 74.
President Uhuru eulogized the deceased as a “true servant” of the people who played a huge role in the tea sector during his tenure at the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA).
“President Kenyatta has mourned Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama, who passed away Friday morning, as a distinguished and true servant of the people whose contribution to the development of the tea sector in Kenya and service to the people of Nyamira County shall be dearly missed,” State House tweeted.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi who hails from the county termed Nyagarama’s death as devastating.
“Devastated by the news of the death of my Governor John Nyangarama. He was a gentle and kind soul. A real mzee and elder in the community who defended the rights of his people. My condolences to his family and the people of Nyamira County,” Matiang’i condoled.
Nyagarama was born in 1946 and schooled in Nyamira and Kisii counties before joining Maseno School for his A levels.
He then joined the University of Nairobi and pursues a degree in Literature. Upon his graduation, he was enrolled by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) as a high school teacher, a job he did until 1982 when he quit teaching.
He joined the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) as a management trainee but later became a KTDA manger in several branches across the country.
Between 1994 and 2013, he established profitable tea exporting companies whilst working as a KTDA board member.
Nyagarama then vied for Nyamira governorship in 2013 on an ODM ticket, a seat that he got and successfully defended it in the 2017 elections.
