Your Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya, distinguished leaders, members of the clergy, the great people of Karachuonyo and Homa Bay, brothers and sisters across our beloved nation and in the diaspora:
We gather today beneath a shared canopy of gratitude—gratitude for the 92 radiant years God granted to Mama Phoebe Muga Asiyo, a daughter of Karachuonyo whose light shone far beyond the shores of Lake Victoria, illuminating boardrooms at the United Nations, the chambers of Parliament, and the humblest village footpaths.
A trail she blazed for us all
Born on 12 September 1932, Mama Phoebe was no stranger to “firsts.” She became the first African woman to rise to the rank of Police Superintendent, the first Luo woman to be installed as an elder, and one of the earliest female Members of Parliament—serving Karachuonyo from 1979 to 1992. Her fingerprints are etched on the two-thirds gender rule, the Affirmative Action Bill, and every milestone Maendeleo ya Wanawake has achieved since she took its helm in 1958 and remained its steadfast Trustee until the very end.
As UNIFEM Ambassador (1988-1992), she strode across continents carrying the aspirations of Kenyan girls in the folds of her kitenge, reminding the world that “where women rise, nations rise.”
The mentor behind my own journey
I speak today not only as a former colleague in elective politics but as a son she adopted into her circle of wisdom. In 2009, long after Mama Phoebe had left active politics, I felt the first tremors of calling. She clasped my shoulders, looked me squarely in the eye, and said, “Go serve Karachuonyo; development is love made visible.” Her endorsement that year carried indescribable weight. She did more than lend a famous name – she lent strategy, networks, and the quiet confidence that Karachuonyo’s future could be shaped by its own sons and daughters.
On every campaign stop she reminded crowds that my late mother – herself, once a constituency beauty-contest representative, would be proud. She vowed she would find me my mother’s photograph. Though that cherished picture never reached my hands, the promise itself became a living portrait, framing Mama Phoebe’s tenderness toward my family.
Our families broke bread together in Wikondiek and later in Durham, North Carolina, where she breathed her last on 16 July 2025. In every visit her laughter filled the room first, followed closely by her favorite refrain, “Child, the sky is wide—keep climbing.”
Her legacy in brick, mortar, and human spirit
Because of her guidance, we rolled out water projects, girl-friendly school latrines, and the first ICT hubs Karachuonyo. Yet she insisted that true development is “the capacity of a young girl to dream without ceilings.” She championed bursaries that sent hundreds of Karachuonyo daughters to secondary school and beyond.
Even in retirement she chaired the Caucus for Women’s Leadership, coaching a new generation to occupy spaces previously signed “boys only.” I stand here as living testimony that her mentorship was never idle talk – it was investment with compound interest, paying dividends to families she would never meet.
Anchored in faith
Mama Phoebe’s Christian walk began in an Adventist home and never wavered, yet she embraced people of all creeds. Her life calls to mind the words of Proverbs 31: 25-31—
“Strength and dignity are her clothing… she opens her mouth with wisdom… give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.”
Today, at these figurative “gates” of state and church, we lift our voices in that praise.
A charge to all who loved her
- To my sisters in Maendeleo ya Wanawake—wear her mantle lightly but carry her resolve firmly.
- To the men and boys—honor her by championing spaces where our girls and wives stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us.
- To the leaders before me—let us pass the Inclusive Representation Bill she fought for, so her dream echoes in law as well as lore.
Fare-thee-well, Mother of Nations
Mama Phoebe fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith; now a crown of righteousness is hers. Yet her final wish is unfinished business, entrusted to every heart that beats for Kenya: build a country where no child’s potential is rationed by gender, geography, or poverty.
May we answer that call with the same steadfast grace with which she answered every call placed upon her life.
Rest now, Mama Hon. Dr. Phoebe Muga Asiyo. Your works praise you at our gates, at our news desks, and in the quiet prayers of the girl child whose tomorrow you made possible.
“Go thee in peace, and may thy deeds outlive even our memory of them.”
