Ida Odinga on Thursday eulogised the late Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso as a trailblazer in women leadership.
Speaking during the memorial service of the deceased at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, Ida said that the death of Laboso was a great blow to the nation. She also said that she knew the late county boss personally.
In her speech, Ida recounted how Laboso’s father Fred Laboso assisted her to fix one of her tires after she got a puncture on her way to Migori from Kisumu.
She said that Laboso’s father is a great man just like his daughter. She also promised to support the family during this moment of trial.
“When Joyce left high school, my journey with Joyce did not end there. Some years later, in the early ’90s, I used to be very good at driving. I used to be a responsible person. One time I was driving from Kisumu to Migori and by the time I reached Sotik, just around there, I had a puncture. I was driving a 504 and they used to get the tires under the car and I could not pull the spare tire under the car,” said Ida.
"So as I stood stranded, a man pulled out from a pickup and he ordered the driver to fix that tire for me and he told me to go the farmers club there in Sotik and take tea while my car is fixed. At this juncture, I asked him who he was and he told me I am Fred Laboso. I said could you be the brother of Joyce Laboso, he said no I am the father…the friendship between me and the Laboso’s started there,” she said.
Laboso will be laid to rest at her Fort Tenan Home in Koru, Kisumu County.