2019 has been a year that most people in Kenya would like to forget in relation to the scourge of cancer and the number of victims it has claimed.
Cancer has been listed among the leading causes of death in the country especially due to the cost of diagnosis and treatment.
In this article, our news desk looked at some of the prominent people who succumbed to the deadly disease in the year.
1. Joyce Laboso: The late Bomet governor was destined for greatness especially after unseating one of the most vocal governors, Isaac Ruto of Chama Cha Mashinani during the 2017 General Elections.
But this was not to be after she succumbed to cancer on July 29,2019, at the Nairobi Hospital Cancer Centre at the age of 58.
2. Bob Collymore
He was the second CEO of Kenya’s largest telecommunications company, Safaricom, until his untimely death.
Collymore had been diagnosed with acute myeloid Leukemia and flew several times to the UK to seek treatment.
He would though lose his battle with the disease on July 1 at his home in Kitisuru, Nairobi.
He was cremated at the Kariokor crematorium a few days after his death in the presence of close family members.
3. Kenneth Okoth
He was the first MP for Kibra constituency which had been split from the larger Lang'ata Constituency.
Born and raised in the largest slum in Kenya, Okoth studied hard in school to ensure he changed the lives of his family and impacted the livelihoods of the people from his childhood neighbourhood, which he got to do as MP.
Okoth during his second term as MP was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer and that would finally be the cause of his death which occurred on July 26, at the Nairobi Hospital.
He was cremated at the Kariokor crematorium despite protests from his kinsmen and locals from his native home in Siaya.
4. Michelle Wararia Karume
The name might not ring a bell to many but Michele was the granddaughter to once-powerful Cabinet Minister and business mogul Njenga Karume.
Reports indicated that she died in the died in Houston, Texas at the tender age of 25 where she had gone to seek treatment but ran out of funds.
Due to the family wrangles over the late Minister's estate, Michelle died last days were extremely painful as she begged for funds from her family because she allegedly could not even afford painkillers.
5. Esther Wambui
You might remember the heartbreaking story of the woman who was ejected from the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in April 2019 for lacking a mere Ksh1,950 for treatment.
Wambui had been battling for cervical cancer when her sister Gladys Mwihaki was filmed lamenting at the KNH compound that they had been turned away from the facility for lack of the said money.
Wambui would later succumb to the disease on July 15, 2019, leaving the family with a medical bill amounting to more than Ksh300,000.
