The former housing minister and Malava member of parliament Peter Soita Shitanda was laid to rest Saturday 4th of June 2016 at his Butali rural home in a colorful occasion.
The President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto, governors, senators, members of parliament among other leaders eulogized him as a decent, honest, faithful to his call in politics.
The Silent warrior as referred to by many passed on while undergoing treatment at Nairobi hospital after a long illness.
He died on 24th May, 2016 aged 57.
Thousands of Kenyans turned up at Tande secondary school in Butali to give him his last respect.
Prominent leaders led by the President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were among the moners who came to send him off.
Also read, Tribute to Honourable Peter Soita Shitanda.
Senators, members of parliament, MCAs and other government and non government leaders also paid their tribute to the fallen leader.
Soita was one leader that was loved by many. He survived the ODM wave that gripped most parts of Western Kenya in the 2007 elections.
He was the member of parliament for Malava for 15 years from the year 1997. He was the party leader New Ford Kenya party.
In 1997, Soita was elected as Malava constituency MP on a Ford Kenya ticket after beating the then minister of health the late Joshua Angatia.
He was re elected to parliament in 2002 on the Narc ticket and served as assistant minister in the office of the President before being appointed minister for housing in a cabinet reshuffle in 2005, a position he held till 2013.
In 2007, he was re elected as member of parliament on the new Ford Kenya ticket.
Soita served as housing minister during President Mwai Kibaki’s regime before running for the Kakamega Gubernatorial seat in 2003 and lost to governor Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya.
He was appointed Chair of the Agriculture Development Corporation in April 2015 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Academics/ Career
Soita Shitanda was born at Tande in Malava in 1959. He attended Tande primary from 1967 to 1973 before joining Malava high school for his O levels.
He joined the Kenya polytechnic 1978 before working as an accountant at the attorney general’s chambers.
Later he joined Strathmore college in 1983 to 1984.
Soita worked with the ministry of finance and later as an accountant at Investment Promotion Center.
He lives behind a widow Betty Soita and three children Sidney Mwimali, Shirley Soita and Terrence Shitanda.