Former Lugari MP and one-time Minister for Rural Development, Cyrus Jirongo, has died following a road accident earlier today.

Jirongo will be remembered for many things, but one of the most historic moments associated with his name is the introduction of the KSh 500 note into the Kenyan economy.

Back in the early to mid-1990s, ulikuwa ukipatia mtu note ya 500 alikuwa anasema umenipatia “Jirongo”, and it was very valuable back then.

The nickname quickly caught on and became part of everyday slang.

So here is the story, the year 1992 marked a major turning point in Kenya’s political history after President Daniel Arap Moi repealed Section 2A of the Constitution, paving the way for multiparty democracy.

This development allowed opposition politicians to unite and campaign against President Moi in the December 29, 1992, General Election.

Around the same time, a group of young, energetic politicians formed a movement known as Youth for KANU, popularly referred to as YK92.

The movement was chaired by Cyrus Jirongo, with William Ruto among its notable members.

YK92 had one clear mission: to mobilize young people across the country to support President Moi’s re-election bid.

It was during this period that the Central Bank of Kenya released a new KSh 500 note.

Although the move was officially presented as an effort to stabilize the economy, it later emerged that the note was also part of a strategy to finance political campaigns.

The 500-shilling note soon became synonymous with YK92 that was well-funded by the government and they used the new note to facilitate meetings and distribute money during campaign rallies.

With YK92 gaining immense popularity under Jirongo’s leadership, Kenyans naturally nicknamed the new note “Jirongo.”

It is said that all members of the YK92 became super wealthy afterwards.

President William Ruto once made a joke in public that Jirongo was bitter with him because he had once been “kijana wake wa mkono” many years ago.

He humorously wondered how Ruto managed to rise from that position to eventually become President of the Country.