The late Chief of Defence Forces, General Francis Ogolla, will go down in history as the first person to host a sitting president in the sleepy village of Masumbi, south-east Alego Location in Siaya County.
The date was Sunday, October 8, 2023.
The late general, who died along with nine other soldiers in a plane crash on Thursday afternoon, was hosting a dinner for the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces.
The event was lowkey, but it would not have passed without the attention of curious villagers.
"That evening, the house of 'Jalueny' (soldier) had an unusually large number of uniformed police officers from the main intersection to the entrance. There were several police vehicles parked along the road leading to his house," said one villager, Simon Owino.
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Mr Owino told the the Nation , the kind of security presence they witnessed that day was only comparable to when former United States President Barack Obama visited his father's home in K'Ogelo, not too far from General Ogolla's home.
This piqued their curiosity, and they knew they had an unusual guest.
"The heavy police presence made me suspect that a senior official was visiting the area. He was already a CDF and whenever he visited the village house, there were not so many police apart from the usual security personnel," added Mr Owino.
The C-in-C's visit was low-key and supposed to be private, Mr Owino recalls.
The next day, however, the villagers went about their daily chores with a sense of satisfaction that the Head of State was aware of their village's existence.
Accordingly, they hoped the President would soon distribute goodies to them because of his cordial working relationship with their son.
"Remember, there are thousands of villages in this country. We considered it a privilege for the sitting Head of State to visit and eat with our son. We were confident that before he retires, some goodies would find their way to our village," added the grieving Mr Owino.
Some bodaboda operators based at Ng'iya Junction Stage in Masumbi village also noticed the arrival of the most distinguished guest.
The late Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Ogolla.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
To them, General Ogolla was a man of few words who arrived in the village with no fanfare despite his decorated position.
He often arrived in one or two cars at most, recalls George Otieno, a boda-boda driver.
"He was not the kind of person who loved attention, but on that day we counted many vehicles going to his house. We noticed him because he was supposed to be inconspicuous," said Mr Otieno.
First, there was a police Land Cruiser that blocked the highway from Siaya town and then other vehicles came from Kisumu direction and diverted to K'Ogelo and further to the CDF's house, the bodaboda operators told the The Nation .
However, they never got close to the President due to the tight security that day.
After dinner, President Ruto left for Kisumu without addressing the locals.
The next day, Ruto also spent time in Migori County, where he met with sugarcane farmers and launched many projects, including affordable housing in Kuria West.
"I found out very late that Dr Ruto was in our area. I wish I had known earlier because I could have gone and met him," said 71-year-old George Owino, a resident of Masumbi village, in an earlier interview with the Nation .
President William Ruto shares a light moment with Siaya Governor James Orengo at Urenga in Siaya County on October 6, 2023.
Photo credit: Rushdie Oudia | Nation Media Group
Local elected leaders were also unaware and only found out hours later after the president had left.
The bodaboda riders said they were very proud of their late son - who belonged to the Kakan clan - for bringing a sitting president to the village.
Despite its sleepy appearance, South East Alego has produced some of Kenya's most prominent names.
In addition to General Ogolla and Obama Senior, retired Colonel Cyrus Oguna and Sauti Kuu director Auma Obama, also hail from the area.
Others are former lawmaker Edwin Yinda, current Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Adeya Adongo, Prof Jackline Oduol and Homa Bay Health Chief Officer Kevin Osuri.
