Veteran politician, gender champion, and diplomat Phoebe Asiyo has passed away at the age of 93.
In a statement on Thursday, her family announced that she died peacefully in North Carolina, USA.
“It is with heavy hearts that the Asiyo family shares the profound loss of our cherished mother. Her presence and love will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” the statement read.
Phoebe hailed from a prominent family. She was the daughter of the renowned Pastor Joel Omer Ouko, one of the earliest Adventist evangelists in the greater South Nyanza region.
She began her career as a Senior Prisons Officer before venturing into politics in 1979, where she caused one of the biggest upsets of that year’s General Election by defeating the incumbent, David Okiki Amayo, for the Karachuonyo parliamentary seat.
It was one of the most fiercely and violently contested elections the region had ever witnessed. Okiki Amayo was widely respected for his oratory and debating skills.
He had easily triumphed over a large field of competitors in 1969 and successfully defended his seat in 1974 against formidable opponents such as Amos Onyango Midamba, Odiayo Nyandega, Gordon Orinda Sibuor, Ochieng Maena, Haggai Abongo Koyier, and Odiayo.
Many believed Okiki was unbeatable in Karachuonyo, but Phoebe Asiyo proved them wrong not once, but twice, defeating him in the general election and again in a by-election after he filed a legal challenge.
In the heated 1983 elections, Asiyo received a major boost from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who, while passing through Kendu Bay, urged the Karachuonyo electorate to “pass his greetings” to Phoebe, the daughter of his longtime friend Joel Omer, while famously waving a flywhisk.
That symbolic endorsement quickly spread across the constituency and is believed to have significantly contributed to Okiki’s defeat.
Asiyo was a staunch ally of Jaramogi Odinga and became one of the most outspoken critics of the KANU regime during her time in Parliament.
She was best known for her tireless advocacy for gender equality and for pushing for the two-thirds gender principle, which later became a cornerstone of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
In 1997, she chose not to run for office again but instead threw her support behind her longtime campaigner, Paul Adhu Awiti, who went on to win the seat on an NDP ticket, defeating Lazarus Ombaye Amayo.
Asiyo remained a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment throughout her life.
