James Nyagarama

John Nyagarama

The country woke up on the morning of Thursday, December 18, 2020, to the sad news of the passing   away of Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama.

Up until his death, he was the beloved county boss of Nyamira since he was elected to the position in 2017 on the Orange Democratic Party ticket.

He was the third governor to die during his tenure after Nyeri’s Patrick Wahome Gakuru who died in a road accident in November 2017 and Bomet county’s Joyce Laboso in July 2019.

Nyagarama was born in 1946 in Nyakemincha, Nyamira County and attended Maseno School before proceeding to Kisii High School. He then moved to the University of Nairobi where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Literature.

He began his teaching career at Nduru Boys Secondary School from 1975 to 1976. He go transferred to various school before he stopped teaching in 1982 and instead, consentrated on farming.

He joined Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and rose to serve as its manager. He officially ran for office in 2007 when he unsuccessfully vied for the Parliamentary seat of West Mugirango Constituency.

His second attempt earned him the Nyamira Gubernatorial seat in 2013.