Nairobi, Kenya – Former Laikipia North Member of Parliament Mathew Lekidime Lempurkel has died while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital, nearly six days after sustaining critical injuries in a road accident. Family sources confirmed that Lempurkel, 47, passed away on Sunday morning, bringing an end to his battle for recovery following the crash.

The ex-MP was involved in a collision on August 18 in the Ong’ata Rongai area on the outskirts of Nairobi. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and remained in critical condition due to head and chest injuries. Doctors had noted some signs of improvement during the week, but his condition deteriorated over the weekend.

Lempurkel represented Laikipia North in the National Assembly from 2013 to 2017, where he was known as an outspoken advocate for pastoralist community rights and land issues affecting the Maa people. His career was not without controversy – in 2021 he was convicted and handed a one-year jail term (served in probation) for assaulting his successor, MP Sarah Korere, in a highly publicized incident. He had also switched political allegiances in late 2023, moving from the ODM party to President Ruto’s UDA party.

Leaders from Laikipia and across the political divide sent condolences to Lempurkel’s family, remembering him for his community service and philanthropy. Prior to entering politics, he ran a charitable trust that funded heart surgeries for Kenyan children abroad and brought water projects to remote villages in Laikipia and Isiolo. Plans for Lempurkel’s funeral and burial are expected to be announced in the coming days as the region mourns a prominent figure gone too soon.