There are accordingly whispers that politicians – jostling for attention and possible endorsement – might have destroyed the grand old man by enticing him with financial favours. Traditionally, a noble undertaking such as khuswala kumusee is not supposed to be commercialised.
But his son, a born-again Christian, maintains his father died of natural causes: “My father was a long sufferer of diabetes, from which he succumbed. He would probably be alive today had he accepted to be amputated the second leg last year, but he declined insisting ‘let me die with this one’”.
Irony of faiths
The irony of their faiths notwithstanding, Pastor Joseph Wanyonyi Manguliech of Apostolic Church has no regrets about his father’s path of traditional spiritualism. He says the husband of five wives and 19 children, was the best father ever.
In the meantime, Manguliech’s demise leaves behind a huge vacuum in local politics at the turn of an election year: “Usually they sought his blessings or interpretation of the unfolding political scenario,” says Wanyonyi.
