Former Maendeleo Ya Wanawake chairperson Jane Kiano is dead.
Kiano, 74, passed away on Thursday night at the Nairobi Hospital.
“She battled bravely against lung cancer and we are
very proud of her. She died at 10.30," family representative Irungu Houghton said in a statement.
Kiano was the widow of Julius Gikonyo Kiano, former Cabinet minister.
She was Kenya's first PhD holder.
Born in Tumu Tumu, Nyeri, she trained as a teacher before switching to National women leadership.
She was the Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization National Chairperson between 1971–1984.
Later she served as National Council of Women of Kenya Chairperson (1999-2003).
"She also served as Alliance Francaise President (1982-2013) and was Nairobi City Commission
Deputy Chairperson (1988–1992)," the family statement said.
More recently, she was a member of the Council of Eminent Persons of Murang’a and a founding Commissioner of the National
Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) between 2009-2013.
She was decorated for her service with Legion d’ Honneur du France in 2014, Freedom of the Nairobi City in 2006, Elder of the Burning Spear for being an outstanding Woman Leader among others.
On August 23, 2018, she received the First Class, Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear Award.
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