It was an emotional send off for the late Nicasio Tengeye a 98 years old patriarch as relatives, friends and mourners drawn from all walks of life gathered at Kamusinga village to celebrate his final send off mass led by St. Leo Catholic Church parish priest Father John Sulumeti.
Born in 1918 the late Tengeye joined the King’s African Rifles (KAR) and worked in many countries including Ethiopia, India, Burma, Djibouti, Eritrea and Kenya.
The late Tengeye will also be remembered for having been involved in starting of many schools including Kimilili boys, Maeni girls and Moi girls Kamusinga.
The late Tengeye had five wives, 35 children, 116 grand children and 67 great grand children summing up to a total generation of 218 people.
Speakers including his children, relatives and leaders who attended the funeral service recalled how inspirational and instrumental the old man had been in their lives at one point or another.
“Our father was a unifying factor in the family and that is why you can witness here all children from the five wives can gather together and mingle without any friction in his final ceremony,” said one of his sons.
One of Tengeye’s grand children who is a superintendent of police in Murang’a county recalled how her grandpa used to inspire her at her work while she worked in Western and grew through the ranks attributing her success to the late Tengeye.
“When I worked here in Western and used to train police officers here at this grounds of Kamusinga, Kuka used to come around and tell me Nasimiyu do this and that in your work only to learn later on that Kuka was a soldier,” said Felician Nasimiyu the police officer who was brought up by Mzee Tengeye.
Bungoma County public administration chief officer David Kibiti who represented Bungoma County governor at the funeral called upon Bungoma county residents to maintain peace and urged leaders not to incite residents as we near the general election.
He termed the late Tengeye as a wonderful man who was social with everyone saying the community will miss his contribution to the society as well as his family saying he was very instrumental in providing guidance.
His sentiments were echoed by area Member of Parliament Suleiman Murunga who hailed the late Tengeye as a humble community member who was committed to his duties and his contribution to the society will be greatly missed.
Murunga disclosed that the national government will be tarmacking the DC- Namakhele road to ease transport services in the area saying it will be a smooth ride to Friends School Kamusinga and back being one of the national schools in Bungoma County.
He further disclosed that the National Government Constituency Development Fund will be issuing bursary cheques to those who successfully applied saying they are aiming to ensure students from needy backgrounds are not locked out of the education system.
However he called upon those who will not have been shortlisted to visit the constituency office to launch their concern saying they will have to be considered during the next disbursement saying students in secondary schools and colleges are the ones to benefit under the scheme.
During the funeral various people interested in vying for political seats including MCAs, and parliamentary seat used the opportunity to urge the electorate to consider them when elections are held.
