MUSAU: Ng’eno’s life a testament to resilience of the human spirit

In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare beautifully surmised the anxious life of cowards while also extolling the freedom in the virtue of courage: "While cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant taste of death but once."

On Saturday, February 28, 2026, MP Johana Ng’eno died for the first and the last time.

The helicopter he was flying in alongside five other occupants crashed in the Chepkiep area of Mosop, Nandi county, ending his eventful life.

From the outpouring of grief, account of his life and the tributes offered, Ng’eno was undoubtedly a man and a half. He walked a life of unmistakable courage, inimitable purpose and undivided focus.

After scraping through primary school in the 70s, Ng’eno lacked the fees to proceed to O-level. As an alternative, he settled for a mechanic course in Sotik town but was unable to undertake the Grade Test on account of age.

Ng’eno stayed at home until he was of age, obtained his ID, went back to mechanic school and finally undertook the Grade Test. He wanted to advance from a certificate to a diploma, but his father turned him down.

For a few years, he was stuck in the village. He then decided to go back to primary school as an adult learner, determined to pursue a career in law.

Upon finishing his primary education for the second time, Ng’eno was admitted to Maseno School. Unfortunately, he did not qualify to join university immediately. For a moment, his dream of becoming a lawyer seemed to have dissipated, until it was not.

For the next 10 years after school, Ng’eno buried himself in the drudgery of village hustle; milking cows for a pittance, picking tea for a song and trading in livestock. At the turn of the millennium, Ng’eno set out to turn around his life.

As a strategy, he entered local politics to increase his chances of accessing educational opportunities. Riding on political networks, he applied and was admitted to Kyiv TSN University in Ukraine in 2003.

For close to four years, he studied international law and came back in the run-up to the 2007 general election. Penniless, he tossed his hat in the ring for Kilgoris parliamentary seat to unseat his benefactor, Gideon Konchella.

He was about to upset the old order in the primarily Maa constituency when the vote count was disrupted. When the dispute was resolved and a recount ordered, all the ballot boxes went up in flames.

In the repeat by-election, Ng’eno clearly lost to Konchella. He was appointed a Director of the Agricultural Finance Corporation, went back to school for his master’s degree and registered for an LLB degree.

It was not until 2013, after Kilgoris had been divided into two, that he won the Emurua Dikirr seat. A year later, in 2014, he earned his LLB, inching closer to his law dream.

In 2017, he was re-elected to parliament and married a year later at the age of 46. He went to the Kenya School of Law and was finally admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya late last year.

Ng’eno’s life under the sun is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. He swam against currents in pursuit of his ambition. He never gave up, even when he seemed beaten.

The late MP was a bachelor for the entirety of his first term in parliament. His singular focus to achieve set goals saw him marry late in 2018. He demonstrated that it is possible to sacrifice societal pressures for personal goals.

Ng’eno was elected three times in three different political parties. He never compromised his constituents’ interests for convenience or survival. He was arrested countless times.

In the course of his service, Ng’eno expanded his horizon beyond his Dikirr constituency, supporting community-wide initiatives. He died far away from his constituency, supporting causes he believed and relished in.

He died surrounded by ordinary people he worked with, was preserved in the same mortuary as them, and was accorded similar internment honours as they. Unlike many of his vile kind, his exemplary life is worth emulating.

Musau, an advocate of the High Court, is a Senior Project Manager with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The views expressed here are his own.