Kijana Wamalwa's dream rekindled through Edwin Sifuna

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he slowly pulled up his sleeves to show me his swollen elbows. They jutted out like black tennis balls hanging on his frail hands.

“My brother Caleb, they’ve been swollen for weeks. I fear I’m a dying man. I need your prayers,” he whispered, his bright smile fading from his face. We held hands and prayed together. I asked God to heal and protect him.

After the prayer, I hugged him, smiled, and bade him goodbye. I picked up my notebook and as I stepped out of his office, I told him: “Sir our good Lord will heal and protect you.” That was the last time I saw and spoke with Kenya’s eighth Vice President, Michael Christopher Kijana Wamalwa.

For more than two hours, Wamalwa and I spoke about his new experience as Vice President in the Mwai Kibaki government. The Sunday Standard Managing Editor, Mundia Muchiri, had assigned me the task.

“I thank God for this great office. My life has however, changed completely. I cannot indulge in the old life. I can’t go out with my buddies for drinks at my favourite joints. I can’t freely meet friends and relatives. My new office has turned me into State property,” he said at the beginning of our interview.

Despite the adjustments he had to make, he was proud to hold the second most powerful office in the land. In it, he saw hope of the dream of a son or daughter of the Abaluhya ascending to the Presidency one day: “My only prayer is that the Almighty God will let me live long enough to serve the people of Kenya and enjoy life”

A fortnight after our interview, Wamalwa died at a London hospital. I was devastated. Wamalwa was both my news source and close friend. I had covered him for years, sat with him through long nights, watching him drink, smile, laugh, and make merry. He had barely served a whole year when death stole him. He was the second VP from the Mulembe nation. Musalia Mudavadi had during President Daniel arap Moi’s last day’s served as VP for 90 days. Moody Awori, the third Abaluya VP stepped into Wamalwa’s shoes on September25 2003 and served until January 9 2008, when Kalonzo Musyoka was appointed Kenya’s 10th Vice President.

Wamalwa and I spoke a lot about his vision for Kenya and the elusive Luyia unity: “We, members of the Luyia nation are not desperate enough for political power since we haven’t tasted it yet. However, for us to succeed, we need resources, a sense of purpose, and our votes secured in one basket” he would insist.

Sadly, some insensitive men started celebrating Wamalwa’s demise long before it occurred. In his autobiography, Against all Odds, Kalonzo Musyoka writes: “Before Wamalwa’s death, I was on a presidential flight from Maputo in the company of Dr. Chris Murungaru, the minister for Internal Security and one of the powers behind the Kibaki throne then, and Dr. Dan Gikonyo, the president’s personal doctor. During our inflight conversation, Murungaru made what I considered a most unfortunate statement. He told me: “Steve, our friend in London (Wamalwa), is not making it so let us give his slot to Moody Awori to hold it till 2007 when you can become Kibaki’s running mate. Forget about it now.”

Kalonzo says: “I was so infuriated. I told him: “Chris, please stop playing God... however, Awori was given the job just as Murungaru had stated”     

Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka says that Wamalwa had the charisma and mien to mobilise the Mulembe nation into a powerful political force. Lusaka was also shocked by the insensitivity displayed towards Wamalwa’s illness.

In his autobiography, Beyond Belief, Lusaka says that his career might have taken a different trajectory if he had become Personal Assistant (PA): “to my father’s former classmate, Michael Kijana Wamalwa. One of Kenya’s greatest orators, he remains one of my political heroes. I was the DC Kajiado when Wamalwa was appointed Vice-President by Mwai Kibaki. Since he had a Kikuyu PA, he was persuaded to recruit his own PA from his ethnic group, the Bukusu. My name was floated.  I was just settling down into my new role and promotion as DC when the PA offer came”.

Lusaka decided to make consultations. The more he sought advice the more confused he became. One Bukusu elder told him: “My son, you now have an opportunity to be like Nicholas Biwott, who was President Moi’s PA. Biwott became very powerful. Wamalwa is laidback with a don’t-care attitude, akipatiwa briefcase ya pesa kama nne unachukua mbili (when he gets four briefcases full of money, you take two).”

Lusaka says others were: “callous, tactless and shameless in their advice. One elder lost my respect when he told me: “Do you want to become jobless? Wamalwa’s close relative told me the guy’s health is bad so you are likely to be jobless within no time.”

As Lusaka wrestled with different thoughts, Wamalwa paid him a visit in Kajiado. “We spoke at length. He was very convincing. He told me that I shouldn’t decline his offer. I told him: “Sir, I have no problem working with you. We agreed to meet again upon his return to Kenya. He was leaving the country for Geneva, Switzerland. He never returned. He was taken ill and died in London while undergoing treatment,” writes Lusaka

As we mark 23 years since Wamalwa’s passing, the Luyia unity has not yet materialised. Lusaka, who believes in the Luyia unity, argues that, the Mulembe nation still lacks the requisite resources and fire power to go for the presidency. Lusaka is the 2027 Presidential Campaign Coordinator for President William Ruto in western Kenya.

Jack Wanami Wamboka MP for Bumula constituency in Bungoma County, in a Facebook post dated August 23rd 2025 says: “On this day in 2003, Kenya’s political gem H.E Michael Kijana Wamalwa was plugged from the fertile garden of Luyia nation and left a gap that has never been filled”

He went on to describe Wamalwa as: “A selfless leader who held hands of many, united Mulembe nation and Kenya, fought the ills of Kanu and stood firm to deliver liberation for Kenyans”     

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who was 21 when Wamalwa died, has sent shock waves with the excitement he has caused in western Kenya and among Kenyan youth. While some argue that Sifuna still has to gain leadership experience before he can vie for the Presidency, others posit that he is the right person to take over from where Kijana Wamalwa left.  

In the March 14 2019 issue of The Elephant, Bethuel Oduo quotes ethnographer Shadrack Bulimo as saying: “Over the years, talk of Luyia unity has waxed and waned depending on prevailing political temperatures, in a cyclical pattern that continues even today, especially during electioneering”

“Luyia unity is a favourite subject among politicians whenever elections are looming, but the same leaders are unwilling to jump into one political vehicle to harmonise the region's socio-economic interests,” states Bulimo

The Abaluyia, with 18 sub-tribes, occupy the counties of; Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia, with millions spread in major cities and settlement schemes, while others pour into Uganda.

Edwin Sifuna and Wamalwa Kijana come from the Bukusu sub-tribe of the Luyia nation, which is the only Luyia community to have openly resisted the colonialists in 1895. In what came to be known as the Chetambe Resistance, the Bukusu fought at the Chetambe Fort to curtail British expansion. Hundreds of local fighters perished. The heavily armed British forces suffered casualties too. The Bukusu see themselves as brave warriors.

In 1946, Elijah Masinde, in his anti-colonial wave, established Dini ya Musambwa (Religion of Ancestral Spirits), throwing a major protest punch at the Christian Church, which was preaching against polygamy and ancestral sacrifices. Elijah Masinde remains revered as a prophet.

Masinde Muliro, another Bukusu, earned respect among the Luyia and Luo nations for being fearless and principled. A close friend and confidant of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Muliro was among the founders of the Ford Party, which gave President Daniel arap Moi sleepless nights during the one-party authoritarian rule.

“Muliro instantly became the quintessential Luyia leader and is immortalised by a university in Kakamega, the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST)” writes Bethuel Oduo. On August 27 2011, the government of Mwai Kibaki declared Masinde Muliro a national hero.

Muliro’s political journey was illustrious and dangerous. In 1975, he was the only cabinet minister in Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s government who voted against a government report into the murder of Nyandarua MP JM. Kariuki.

Another Luyia, Peter Kibisi, Assistant Minister for Labour and MP for Vihiga also voted against the report. A fuming President Jomo Kenyatta sacked Muliro and Kibisu, throwing them into political wilderness.

Former Butere MP Martin Shikuku once told me of JM: “Following the 1969 oathing by members of the Kiambu mafia, no Kikuyu stepped forward to protest or question the murder of JM. JM himself had refused to join us protest the killing of Tom Mboya in 1969”

Despite Shikuku’s repeated pleas, arguments, urgings, and cajoling, J.M Kariuki adamantly refused to bulge on Mboya’s death. In March 1975, J.M.’s decomposing and mutilated body was discovered dumped in Nairobi’s City mortuary.

Shikuku said that J.M could not have seconded his motion following Mboya’s assassination: “When Mboya was shot dead, Kikuyu’s privately and secretly went to Gatundu to take an oath. This is what militated against JM’s seconding of my motion about Mboya’s assassination” said Shikuku.

After Masinde Muliro, came Kijana Wamalwa who was raised Bukusu with Sabaot roots. Wamalwa’s father Senator William Chemayek Ngeywo was a Sabaot who changed his name to Wamalwa to get missionary education. Sabaots those days suffered discrimination from colonial authorities.

Chemayek in Sabaot and Kalenjin is alcohol and Wamalwa is its equivalent in Lubukusu. Michael’s mother Esther Nekesa was a Bukusu from the Baengele clan: “His Sabaot roots did not matter as he was raised Bukusu, underscoring that the Luyia nation is a confluence of Kalenjin, Maasai, Luo and Bantu ethnicities” argues Bethuel

Former Ambassador Edward Namasaka, in his memoir, Home and Beyond, describes the early Bukusu migration; “Under the leadership of a great warrior, Silikwa, they moved further south into Kenya... it was during their stay at Silikwa-Mumbayi that Bukusu forefathers made frequent interactions and inter-marriages with the Kalenjins.  

Wamalwa Senior was among the first proponents of Luyia unity. In the 1960s, he was among Luyia leaders who mobilised members of the Luyia community to buy land from fleeing Wazungu. He was keen to strategize on communal power and wealth accumulation. Through his leadership, thousands of Luyias moved from Vihiga, Busia, Kakamega and Bungoma to buy land and settle in Trans Nzoia courtesy of this campaign.  

Today, as Sifuna cuts across the Republic of Kenya under the banner of Linda Mwananchi, authorities and his rivals are making the same mistake that was made against his mentor Raila Odinga. By harassing, disrupting and tear gassing his campaign meetings, they inject energy into his popularity. 

On August 18 2026, the Bumula legislator Wamboka wrote: “...In Homa Bay, we paid a painful price when our vehicle with Governor George Natembeya was attacked by goons, who inflated its tyre. In the chaos I had a minor injury on my leg as we jumped over a fence to safety. The pain has only strengthened our resolve. We are more energised, more determined and more united in this course”

Wamalwa Kijana fought major battles, including war over Ford Kenya party leadership with Raila Odinga. In 2003, he played a leading role in the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), alliance which unseated Kanu in the 2002 general election.

I miss his exceptional command of the English language, sharp intellect and political gentlemanly. He famously accused the Moi government of enhancing authoritarianism as millions of Kenyans: “wallowed in the miasma of poverty”  

 Sifuna, a lawyer like the late Wamalwa is equally eloquent. His supporters describe him as; “home grown” saying that growing up and going to school in Kakamega, enhances his Luyia appeal.

They argue that since Sifuna was the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM’s), Secretary-General for 10 years and remained loyal to Rail Odinga: “The Abaluhya expect the Luo to reciprocate by backing Sifuna. The Homa Bay fiasco has just added mileage to Sifuna's push for the big job” says veteran journalist John KhakhuduAgunda

Khakhudu says that: “Kijana Wamalwa’s father, Senator William Wamalwa dedicated himself to forging Luhya unity and working with the minorities amongst us; the Sabaot and Teso and so did his son Michael Kijana Wamalwa. Sifuna is easily becoming the successor to Wamalwa. The ease of his messaging across the 18 Luhya dialects is a boon. The poorest of the poor are so excited that they readily hand over their only 10 bob to him”

Khakhudu argues that Senator Wamalwa, Pius Gumo, and Masinde Muliro created the Luyia Trans Nzoia diaspora that Sifuna has inherited. Khakhudu says that following Senator Wamalwa’s efforts, there exists a huge colony of Abanyole in the Soy area near Moi's Bridge.

Masinde Muliro’s perception, as he made his presentation to the 1962 Boundaries Committee, was that Trans Nzoia should be part of the Western Region and Kitale should be its headquarters. Muliro laid a foundation stone in the middle of the sports stadium at Kitale to symbolize it as the headquarters of the Western Region. His argument, which was supported by other Luyia elders, was that the Luyais inhabited Trans-Nzoia earlier than other tribes. Effectively he motivated and ushered Luyias in settling in Trans Nzoia.

Journalist and political analysis Obed Simiyu says that despite Sifuna’s eloquence and rapid rise, he: “must now talk and behave Presidential”

I recall with nostalgia all the moments I shared with Kijana Wamalwa. His biggest strength was his worst weakness. He was amazingly generous. I remember occasions when well-wishers would pour money on the table. I would watch him hand out the same money to supporters and friends who queued with varying requests and needs. We would then fundraise to pay for the bills.

Sifuna must raise his stakes higher and come up with a solid plan on what his Linda Mwanchi has to offer in order to march Kijana Wamalwa’s stature.