- He served as MP from 2002 to 2007, but was defeated by Kapondi. He bounced back in 2013 and again defeated by Kapondi in 2017.
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At the TJRC hearings, he constantly linked Kapondi to the rebel group, a charge that Kapondi rejected at the same venue.
Image: BRIAN OJAMAA
Former Mt Elgon John Serut who died Wednesday was a man who grew up in a hard life.
This might have contributed to his combative persona which saw him take turns at becoming MP for Mt Elgon, locking him in bitter rivalry with Fred Kapondi.
The rivalry became so cutthroat that every clan made their own “security arrangement” in the form of armed militias. That is how Sabaot Land Defence Forces was born.
The enmity endured even though Kapondi was his brother-in-law.
"My wife is his half-cousin and Kapondi used to live in my house," Serut once said.
He served as MP from 2002 to 2007, but was defeated by Kapondi. He bounced back in 2013 but was again defeated by Kapondi in 2017.
Serut died Wednesday at a city hospital after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67.
His daughter Michelle Serut confirmed his death, saying she was heartbroken her father would never see her children.
"Rest in peace to the love of my life. I hate that you won't see my children. I hate that you won't get to see the woman I become but I'll make you proud. I love you dad."
A report issued by then government spokesman Alfred Mutua in early 2007 cited Serut as among the key funders of clashes in the area that led to death of hundreds and displacement of thousands.
The report said rebel fighters from neighbouring Uganda were collaborating with some residents to stage the skirmishes.
Serut was named alongside former MPs Wilberforce Kisiero and Eric Kimkung together with unnamed former councillors.
Given the delicate security situation in the area, his dying wish was for the strong presence of the military and police in the area to stem ethnic and clan conflicts that had proven deadly.
"Without the army coming to Mt Elgon, some of us would be no more. The SLDF had taken over Mt Elgon," he said, referring to the military operation in the area to flush out the SLDF militia in 2006.
The group's leader Wycliffe Matakwei eventually got killed.
"They had come up with camps and cells. They had structures and commanders. So, the coming of the army was a relief."
"I also want to request the civil society not to become inciters," he said responding to claims of human rights violations in the area during the operation.
At the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission hearings, he constantly linked Kapondi to the rebel group, a charge that Kapondi rejected at the same venue.
Serut also described many instances he escaped death when group organised attacks against him.
When he ventured into politics, he fashioned himself as a KANU stalwart, becoming then President Daniel arap Moi's foot soldiers in the area.
In 2002, he vied for the post on a Kanu ticket despite the NARC wave.
Once in office, he developed a close political friendship with President Mwai Kibaki government, eventually getting appointed as Planning and National Development assistant minister.
When he appeared before the TJRC in 2011, Serut said he was a peasant who had a humble upbringing, something that inspired him to fight for his community.
(edited by Amol Awuor)