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Hillary Barchok will be sworn in as the new Bomet governor on Thursday even as pressure piles on him to pick a woman as his deputy.

He will replace Joyce Laboso, who succumbed to cancer at the Nairobi Hospital last week. She was laid to rest on Saturday at her Kisumu matrimonial home. 

Barchok has been running the county since May 29, when Laboso left the country to seek treatment abroad. His swearing-in will take place at Bomet Green Stadium, according to a gazette notice dated July 31.

At Laboso’s memorial service in Bomet on Friday, various leaders, including Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya urged Barchok to select a woman as deputy in honour of Laboso.

And during burial on Saturday, Governors Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga) and Charity Ngilu (Kitui) also asked him to pick a woman deputy governor, saying Bomet residents had shown their confidence in women.

“We humbly request that you choose a woman as your deputy,” said Waiguru.