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Baringo Senator William Cheptumo passed away on Sunday at the Nairobi Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment. He was 58 years old.
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According to his family, he had been ill for some time before his death. A family member revealed that he was discharged from the hospital last week but his condition worsened, leading to his readmission.
Born in 1967, Cheptumo served as the Member of Parliament for Baringo North for 14 years, from 2008 to 2022. In the 2022 general elections, he won the Senate seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, defeating Gideon Moi. Cheptumo received 141,777 votes, while Moi, the incumbent seeking re-election, garnered 71,408 votes.
He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi between 1988 and 1991 and later completed a postgraduate diploma in law at the Kenya School of Law. Cheptumo attended Kabarnet High School, Bartolimo Secondary School, and Maregut Primary School, completing his primary and secondary education between 1975 and 1987.
Before entering politics, Cheptumo held various legal roles, including serving as a legal officer at the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation from 1993 to 1995. He then worked as a legal officer at the Central Bank of Kenya from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, he founded his own law firm, Cheptumo and Company Advocates, which he operated until 2007. He also worked as an executive in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs between 2008 and 2013.
During his time in the 11th Parliament, Cheptumo chaired the Committee on Delegated Legislation and served as a member of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, the House Business Committee, and the Committee on Pensions. In the 12th Parliament, he chaired the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and was the chairperson of the Senate National Security, Defense, and Foreign Relations Committee.
Two days before his death, Cheptumo expressed his support for Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship, calling him the most qualified candidate and a statesman with a bold vision for a progressive Africa. Despite Cheptumo’s support, Raila Odinga lost the race to Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf after a heated seven-round contest.
