A somber mood has engulfed Juja constituency in Kiambu County following the sudden demise of MP Francis Munyua Waititu who has been battling cancer in hospitals both locally and internationally.
The second term-serving MP died at the MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi on Monday evening after a longstanding brain cancer battle, a fight he opened up in 2018 when he said that he was forced to seek treatment in India.
While revealing his status, Waititu who died at the age of 63 years then told journalists that he was forced to undergo a test by his mother after his older sister died of cancer.
Juja constituents, leaders and friends today thronged his home in Juja to condole with the family.
Residents led by Stephen Ndirangu, a bodaboda rider in the area eulogized the candid MP as hardworking, a go getter and passionate about service to the people.
They acclaimed him for initiating development projects in the constituency among them schools, roads and electricity connections thereby spurring economic growth of the constituency that became independent in 2013.
During his return from India in March 2018, Munyua decried that many Kenyans who have been flown to India seeking cancer treatment are sleeping on pavements because they cannot afford house rent in India.
The legislator also said there was a need for Kenyans including the tycoons to come open and declare their cancer status saying most politicians are suffering quietly.
His wife Susan Njeri today confirmed that the family is putting in place necessary measures to plan for his burial.
Njeri said that her husband was steadfastly advocating for establishment of local cancer care centres, an ambition she urged the government to implement in his honour.
Speaking at their home, Njeri eulogized her husband as jovial, a real fighter and a man who meant his words, sentiments also shared by the MP’s eldest son Michael Munyua.
Munyua said that as family, they will live the dream of their father who he said always fought for the rights of the downtrodden, saying that his NG-CDF office will soon disburse bursary cheques to students from poor backgrounds.
Leaders and government officials who visited his home yesterday among them area Deputy County Commissioner Charles Mureithi, former Ruiru MP Esther Gathogo and Kiambu governor James Nyoro’s political advisor David Kariuki alias Gakuyo also maintained the need for the government to institutionalize cancer care centres to enable the poor get screened early for better management of the killer disease.