Norine Nalangwa closed her shop in Homa Bay Town on August 16, 2026, fearing that her goods could be stolen during the Linda Mwananchi rally.
Like many other traders, Ms Nalangwa who sold crocs (plastic shoes) at Homa Bay Municipal Market had learnt from previous political meetings in the region, some of which were marred by violence and looting.
She did not want to lose the business that put food on the table and paid her children’s school fees.
So she stayed home in Shauri Yako following the movements of Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other politicians on her phone as they held rallies in Suba.
Norine Nalwanga who was hit by a car during Linda Mwananchi rally in Homa Bay. She died at Homa Bay referral hospital.
Photo credit: Pool
Her son Slysteward Kavuludi said the family remained indoors throughout the day watching the events unfold on their phones.
“We are a family of four children. All of us were at home watching the rally from the phone,” he said.
For much of the day, there was relative calm in Shauri Yako apart from a few youths chanting political slogans. But as evening approached and Linda Mwananchi supporters began making their way towards Homa Bay town, tension mounted and then came reports that shops at the market were being looted.
Ms Nalangwa decided to leave home and check on her business wanting to establish whether her stock was safe and, if necessary, protect it from looters. But the reports turned out to be false because no one had broken into the market.
By then, however, Ms Nalangwa was already on her way.
Earlier, she had called her friend Jackeline Adhiambo and advised her to remain at home because of fears that supporters of rival political groups could harm her.
Ms Adhiambo heeded the warning and locked herself inside her house not knowing she would never see her friend again.
At the market, Ms Nalangwa was known as Nya Uganda, a reference to her Ugandan roots. She had later settled in Kenya where she met the man who became her husband and with whom she had four children.
Ms Adhiambo had expected to meet her the following day after they agreed not to go to the market on Sunday. “I was later told that she is dead. I found her body in the mortuary."
Her family said she had appeared tense when she left home worried about what she might find at the market.
Ms Nalangwa’s son Slysteward, who is a second-year student at Kenyatta University, said his mother was visibly anxious when she left.
He later learnt that she had been hit by a car after a friend who witnessed the accident called him.
Good Samaritans rushed Ms Nalangwa to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital where she was taken to the accident and emergency unit.
“I rushed to the health facility and found her being attended to. I was told to wait outside the accident and emergency unit as health workers tried to stabilise her,” Kavuludi said adding he never got the chance to speak to his mother.
About 30 minutes later, he was called and told that she had died. News of her death quickly reached Uganda, where her parents live.
Mr Kigwana immediately began the journey from Kampala, arriving in Homa Bay Town about 24 hours later.
Soon, he encountered another painful predicament of finding a burial place for his daughter. Along the way, he tried to contact the family of the man who had lived with his daughter and fathered her four children.
“At first, they did not want to cooperate. I did not understand what the problem was,” he said.
The family later told him they were not prepared to meet the burial expenses, arguing that they had never paid dowry for Ms Nalangwa.
In some communities, payment of dowry establishes a traditional bond between two families and determines where a woman is buried.
“I do not understand why the family of the man who lived with her daughter for many years cannot bury the body,” Mr Kigwana stated.
He is now considering taking his daughter's body back to Uganda, but the cost is a major concern.
“From Kampala we have to move further for a distance of about 65 kilometres. I do not have the money to cover the burial expenses,” he said.
Back in Shauri Yako, those who knew Ms Nalangwa remember her as a jovial woman who lived peacefully with her neighbours. Denis Otieno said many people wanted to attend her funeral but travelling to Uganda could be difficult.
“We hope the two families can solve the problem at the moment and agree on burying the body at her husband’s home,” he said.
For her four children, however, the loss is about more than where their mother will be buried as it has left them facing an uncertain future.
Kavuludi worries that he may be forced to abandon his university education. One of his siblings is in Grade 10 at Ogande High School, while the other two are yet to begin school.
“I am the first born in the family. My mother provided everything for us. I don’t know how our future will be,” he said.
