President Uhuru Kenyatta has mourned former long-serving Nakuru Mayor Joseck Thuo Ngeta as an icon of Kenya’s progress through the years.
According to Kenyatta, Kenya has lost a wise statesman whose long service to the defunct Municipal Council of Nakuru had helped shape the devolved unit’s standing as one of Kenya’s most progressive economies.
Mzee Ngeta, who wore many hats in his lifetime including that of a pre-independence-era politician, councilor and businessman, passed away on December 27 last year at Mater Hospital aged 88.
The former civic leader who was later laid to rest at Nakuru North Cemetery was after independence elected as councilor to represent Lanet Ward. He served until 1992 when he left to concentrate on his business.
The president eulogised the former civic leader as an elder Statesman and a symbol of Kenya’s independence struggle and who played a pivotal role in entrenching democracy.
“It is disheartening to learn of the passing away of Joseck Thuo Ngeta, one of our country’s few remaining independence-era politicians, freedom fighter and architect of our second liberation. Mzee Thuo was a highly respected elder statesman, pro-democracy agitator, mentor and astute businessman whose journey through life epitomized the rich political history of the nation,” said Uhuru.
In the message of comfort to the family delivered by Governor Lee Kinyanjui during a requiem mass held at the ACK Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the Head of State indicated that it was because of the solid foundation laid by Mzee Ngeta and his generation of leaders, and their work over the decades, that Kenya stands tall in the community of nations.
The event was graced by Former Prime Minister and ODM leader Raila Odinga, Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Nakuru County Assembly Speaker Joel Kairu.
The President said the late Ngeta’s successful blending of politics and the world of business was a demonstration that focus and hard work pays.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing away of Mzee Ngeta, a distinguished son of Kenya, a friend and a man whose contribution to the making of the Kenyan nation will remain with us for eternity.
“Throughout his many years of service to the nation Mzee Ngeta exhibited exemplary zeal to succeed and as he exits from this world, he leaves behind a rich legacy of success,” President Kenyatta eulogized.
