One of the most prominent and powerful people Kamagambo has ever produced was a man called Hezekiah Oyugi. Oyugi rose through the ranks from DO,DC, PC and later to Internal Security PS in the Moi era. So powerful was Oyugi that when he called a PC in Kisumu from his Nairobi office, they would salute first before picking his call.
And this not an exegerration. Veteran Nation Media Group columnist Emman Omari recalls an interview he once had with the late Western Province PC John Lekolool. In the middle of their conversation, the phone rang. The PC picked up,listened to the person on the other end for a second, then stood at attention and saluted before continuing the call. The caller was the Big Man -PS Oyugi.
PS Oyugi was literally the third in command after President Moi and Nicholas Biwott. Full ministers used to wait in line to meet him -a mere PS- at his Harambee House office. In his village of Rawkwaro, almost very homestead has someone serving in the military. This is what happened.
In the early 90s, Rakwaro was known for cattle rustling. Boys used to drop out of school to engage in this activity. One morning, villagers woke to the sight of military trucks and personnel. Men between the ages of 18 and 27 were rounded up, bundled into these trucks, and taken to Lanet for military training at gunpoint. That is how powerful Oyugi was.
Oyugi built a wonderful home for his 3 wives and children. Rumor has it that each house in his compound had a private vault where money was kept in duffel bags. His wives and children regularly vacationed in Paris. Oyugi had it all.
But today, the sight you encounter when you pass by the Oyugi homestead on your way to Migori from Rakwaro (just opposite Dudu SDA church) is a pathetic one. Less than 20 years after his death, the home is overgrown with bushes and thickets. The once dazzling stately home that President Moi graced with his presence whenever duties of the state took him to South Nyanza is dottted with delapidated structures and caving roofs.
Whenever I pass by that home, I am reminded that nothing is as fickle and fleeting as wealth and power. I want to remind all of you about this. As you chase the two, and even as you get the two, remind yourself of how fleeting and fickle they are. You carry nothing to your grave.