Scenes of white birds hovering over the shores of the lake, occasionally scooping liberal helpings of omena from the drying fishnets are quite common. This picture of serenity is completed by teams of snorting piglets foraging for discarded omena by the shores, while a swarm of satiated birds perched on stationary boats, gently rock in the waves.
Although Karungu is currently a perfect picture of serenity, peace has been elusive in this area from the day the prophet who had magical powers foresaw the coming of traders.
True to saying, a prophet rarely finds favour among his kinsmen. When the magician who also doubled as healer and medicine man divined about baby-like creatures that wielded sticks with fire, his message was shunned.
Baby-like creatures
When the famed magician, Okumu Ogada, popularly known as Okumu Gor or simply Gor Mahia saw a vision of baby-like creatures, who were ravenous like locusts, he traveled to Karungu.
His intention was to warn the braves of Karungu, who were reputed to have conquered all their enemies not to attempt to confront the enemy alone for they would be annihilated.
He pleaded with the locals: “You the descendants of Chwanya, listen. A swarm of baby-like creatures is advancing on us. Other people have fought them and have been utterly destroyed.”
Adrian Onyando captures the historic meeting between Gor Mahia and the people of Karungu, in his book, The Epic of Gor Mahia, where he retells how the magician’s counsel was dismissed as signs of cowardice.
Having fought and won many epic battles, the people of Karungu declared that they were well equipped to deal with any adversary and their shields strong enough to stop Nyametho, the comet that smoked a pipe and resided in the skies. Their leader, Ougo Ratego, trembled in indignation at the suggestion that he was supposed to tell his warriors to sit back and welcome the baby-like creatures, simply because they had sticks with fire.
“This is no land of cowards. This is no land of peace. We are not going to yield to a swarm of babies or plagues or diseases! We have tamed more weird creatures. If the babies come, we will rock them to sleep, with spears if need be,” Ougo thundered.
When the much-talked-about baby-like creatures finally arrived near Karungu, predictably from Wanga kingdom where Nabongo Mumia reigned supreme, the local people were ready. Apparently Gor could not wait for them to arrive in Kanyamwa for he secretly sneaked to Wanga where he spied on the white people and their strange ways.
Predictably, when Charles Hobley, the administrator who would later dominate Nyanza like plague arrived in Nyanza, he was directed to Gor, the famed medicine man and magician.
