Karua mourns former MP Nyamato in emotional send-off in Kisii
By Arnold Ngure, August 8, 2025People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has mourned the late former nominated MP Catherine Nyamato, who was laid to rest at her Menyenya home in Kisii County.
Speaking during the funeral ceremony held at Menyenya Primary School on Friday, August 8, 2025, Karua hailed Nyamato as a trailblazer in women’s emancipation in the country.
“At Menyenya primary school for the funeral mass for my dear friend, the Hon Catherine Moraa Nyamato, a trailblazer in leadership, human rights, and women’s empowerment. I served with Mama Nyamato in parliament, the leadership of The League of Kenyan Women voters,” Karua said.
Generous leader
Karua equally described Nyamato as a generous leader in and out of office during her active years in politics and participation in women’s empowerment initiatives.
“Mama Catherine was a selfless and patriotic leader. She was generous to a fault and served with distinction in all spaces she occupied, both while in office and out of office, in fair weather and hard times,” Karua said.
“She was a woman of all seasons, a woman of substance to touched the lives of many and led by example. To her family, whom she loved dearly, may her distinguished legacy be a source of pride and solace.”
Nyamato was a trailblazing Kenyan politician, particularly noted for her role in breaking barriers for women in leadership within the Gusii community.
Woman of firsts
In 1992, she made a significant first by being the first woman from the Gusii community to run for a parliamentary seat, contesting the West Mugirango constituency.
While she lost the election, her effort was groundbreaking and paved the way for other women. Consequently, her political influence was recognized when the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party nominated her to parliament.
The nomination marked her most notable “first”: she became the first woman from the Gusii community to serve as a Member of Parliament. This achievement was a major feat, as it demonstrated that women could hold national-level leadership positions despite the patriarchal challenges prevalent at the time.
Nyamato died on July 16, 2025, the same day her fellow trailblazer in women’s politics, Phoebe Asiyo, died in the USA.