Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati Mourning

In 2016, I found myself criss-crossing the corridors of power Bungoma County. I was working in the governor’s Communication Department.

I used to follow Ken Lusaka in big four-wheelers, ensuring I covered all his functions. I loved the job despite the fact that I was not being paid.

This was during a very tense political period, the country was preparing for elections in less than two years time and battle lines had already been drawn.

Lusaka was facing very stiff competition to retain his sit. The county chief and his team had been unable to redeem their image since The infamous Wheelbarrow scandal.

Billionaire business Man Wycliffe Wangamati had declared his interest in the top sit. Despite being a political toddler, the current governor had assembled an Arsenal of talented political experts led by Senator Moses Wetangula in his team. This team campaigned under the Ford Kenya umbrella and swept away all the three county sits.

One of the most influential people to Wangamati’s election was an Iron Lady going by the name Namuleyi Wasike.

This was the team’s master of propaganda and led the assault on Social Media. She won every battle in a very powerful Facebook Group Called Bungoma Digest.

This woman knew everything that was happening in Lusaka’s camp. I think she had well informed sources. She was Wangamati’s most loyal lieutenant.

In my analysis of what went wrong for Ken Lusaka, I found that the current Senate Speaker didn’t find Namuleyi’s antidote. The was no one that could counter this woman’s aggressive approach to politics and that is what made the biggest difference in the elections.

Most people in Lusaka’s team hated Namuleyi. To them, she was their biggest enemy. They said very nasty things about her. But I loved her passion, determination and focus.

I feel it would have been easy for Lusaka and his team to recruit Namuleyi into their team rather than alienate her. But I was just a small intern, Nobody would have listened to me.

I never met Grace Namuleyi Wasike in person, but I closely followed her on social Media especially after she took up a role as a liaison officer in Wangamati’s Government.

But politics is not the only thing that made Namuleyi a special person. She would pass for an ordinary person in the streets of Bungoma town at first glance, but she has earned her place in history for her spirited solo fight against jigger infestation in Bungoma. Her work will be remembered for generations to come.

I was so shocked, when I got the news that the Iron lady had fallen. Apparently she had been silently struggling with an illness for the past few weeks and passed away in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Governor Wangamati is already facing a lot of challenges in his first year in office but the loss of his biggest could be a blow he may not recover from.

One of her Facebook friends also revealed that, she was paying school fees for twin girls from a less privileged family. She had been doing so privately, and the friend does not understand how she will break the news to the girls’ family.

We hope the county Government of Bungoma will come in and help the family.

Fare thee well mama Grace. You fought a good fight and inspired so many. May perpetual light shine on your way.

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