On October 21, Ray Otieno sat down with his eldest son, James Okanga, to finalise a milestone deeply rooted in Luo tradition: goyo dala — the ritual of establishing a new ancestral home.
Under Luo customary law, a father cannot simply take a hoe and break the ground to begin construction on his own. His firstborn son must stand beside him, serving as a vital symbolic anchor in the process.
To bypass this foundational rite is to risk chira , a dreaded ancestral curse believed to manifest as wasting sickness or perpetual misfortune.
For Ray, his son’s presence was the missing piece needed to finally relocate the family to their ancestral land in Lwala Kadawa Village, Kisumu West.
Okanga, a fisherman based in Homa Bay Town, enthusiastically agreed to meet his father on October 24 to finalise the arrangements.
The family’s long-held dream came to a devastating halt on Friday morning when Okanga’s body was found floating near Koginga Beach.
A local tour operator, taking his boat out for a routine test ride before beginning the day’s excursions, stumbled upon the body.
Ray was travelling through Kipasi when his phone rang with an urgent but cryptic message. He was needed immediately at his alternative home in Pedo Village, Arujo Location.
“As I was walking back home, another relative called. This time, people were crying in the background,” Ray recalls, still visibly shaken.
“The second caller told me not to go straight home, but to detour to Koginga Beach.”
When Ray arrived at the shoreline, his worst fears were confirmed. His firstborn son lay dead on the sand, his body partially covered in tangled aquatic weeds.
James Okanga, the fisherman who died under mysterious circumstances at Koginga Beach in Homa Bay Town on October 23, 2026.
Photo credit: Pool
“The first thing that came to my mind was our plans for building our family home. It’s as if it is all gone,” Ray said, his voice breaking.
The circumstances surrounding the young fisherman’s death remain unclear. However, local fishermen reported that a multi-agency crackdown on illegal fishing gear had been conducted on the lake the night before his body was discovered.
Enforcement of law and order on Lake Victoria involves several agencies, including the Kenya Coast Guard Services, Kenya Maritime Authority, Kenya Fisheries Service and local Beach Management Units (BMUs).
Okanga’s family, however, has firmly rejected the possibility of accidental drowning, pointing instead to what they describe as visible signs of violent trauma.
His brother, Jepherson Otieno, said he noticed distinct bruises on Okanga’s body.
“Judging by the history of drownings in this lake, I can confidently say my brother was killed before he was thrown overboard. His body did not look like that of someone who simply drowned. He looked like he had been hit with a blunt object,” Jepherson insisted.
Okanga’s mother, Sarah Anyango, recounted the heartbreaking moments she spent beside her son’s body at the shore.
“There was blood oozing from his mouth. I wiped it away, but no matter how hard I tried to keep his mouth clean, the blood kept coming. He must have been killed just minutes before he was found,” she said.
The tragedy has heightened tensions in Homa Bay, with grieving relatives and local beach workers directing accusations at enforcement agencies.
The stretch of water between Koginga and Ndhuru beaches has become a flashpoint for conflict, as dwindling fish stocks fuel fierce competition among fishermen, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Earlier this month, two fishermen lost their lives near Ndhuru Beach during a violent confrontation over protected fish breeding grounds.
“Past conflicts only involved rival fishermen fighting for territory. But the alleged involvement of government enforcement agencies in these violent encounters is raising deep concerns. If my brother violated fishing laws, he should have been arrested and prosecuted, not beaten to death,” he said.
Police said they were aware of the incident, offering an account of events that differs sharply from the family’s suspicions.
Investigators said Okanga jumped into the lake when he was approached by a team conducting patrols on the water.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations Commander Jimmy Kisobo said Okanga was operating the boat in which he was travelling.
“There were two other occupants in the vessel. They were arrested during the operation,” he said.
According to Mr Kisobo, Okanga jumped into the lake to evade arrest.
“He switched off the engine and jumped in the water. The other occupants were arrested, but he remained in the water,” Mr Kisobo said.
He said a thorough post-mortem examination and investigations would establish the cause of the fisherman’s death.
