On Monday, the country lost one of its most treasured politicians, Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso, to cancer but many people have her legacy to look up to.
In 2008, the diligent hard worker joined politics, despite not having any prior interest in the field, after the death of her younger sister, Lorna Laboso, who passed away in a plane crash.
After Lorna's death, the Orange Democratic Party then reportedly demanded that only a relative to the diseased could get its endorsement.
She garnered 23,880 votes with a margin of 10,000 over her closest challenger, retired Brigadier Alexander Sitienei (a former aide to Daniel Arap Moi), who received 13,843 votes.
Laboso made history in 2013, when she became the first-ever female deputy of the National Assembly Speaker.
She stayed in the position until 2017 when she decided to vie for higher gubernatorial office.
In 2013, she became the first woman in the whole of Bomet region to retain her seat as Sotik MP.
In the same spirit, she was also the first woman from the region to serve in Parliament for two terms.
Only three other MPs had achieved that feat, including Kipkalya Kones (Bomet Constituency in 1997), Nathaniel Chebelion (Konoin Constituency in 1992) and Anthony Kimetto (Sotik Constituency in 2002).
In 2017, Laboso also made history after she successfully clinched the Bomet gubernatorial seat in a landslide victory and became among the only three female governors in the country.
The other female governors include Anne Waiguru (Kirinyanga) and Charity Ngilu (Kitui).
In the past, Laboso worked as a lecturer at Egerton University before joining politics
