Western leaders can do more to honour heroes, says Kombo

Ahead of the Mashujaa Day fete set to be held in Kakamega on 20th October, former Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo has urged Western Kenya leaders to be on the frontline when it comes to ensuring the heroes from the region are honoured. Speaking to the press in Nairobi, Kombo said people like angling towards the government for help in acknowledging the heroes, yet more can be done. “When the late Wamalwa Kijana died, I took up the responsibility of managing the yearly commemorations for 14 years, until recently when Eugene took over the mantle. We didn’t seek for help from the government at any point,” he said.

The former Webuye MP said County governments in the region should seek ways of making sure the heroes are remembered and supported the notion of having the Kitale Technical Institute named after ex-VP Kijana Wamalwa. He said more should be done for heroes who are still alive instead of waiting until they die. Kombo noted that the Western region has influential heroes including Elijah Masinde Wanameme, Masinde Muliro, Joseph Khaoya, who he said was instrumental in ensuring Nzoia Sugar Company was set up in Bungoma and Nathan Munoko who presided over a period of development and prosperity for Bungoma District together with Pascal Nabwana, “They brought development to Bungoma district, and we became so prosperous, we even issued a loan to the British administration,” said Kombo.

On the issue of the referendum, Kombo said the referendum shouldn’t be a reality if it’s out to help individuals and it must be issue-based, and that many people at the moment can’t highlight the main point of the proposed referendum. “A person shouldn’t say that we should have a referendum so that he can get power. We should check and scrutinize what we want and seek out what will help Kenyans,” he said.