Prof Siamba, DVC who didn't want any waste in his compound bows out

Prof Donald Namasaka Siamba. [File, Standard]

Many Kenyans, including politicians, have mourned Prof Donald Namasaka Siamba, describing his death as a great loss to the education fraternity, Bungoma County,  and the entire nation.

Until his death in the morning hours of January 24, 2026, Prof Siamba was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration, Finance and Development) at Bungoma County’s Kibabii University.

According to the university, he was employed at the institution on July 2, 2015, as a Senior Lecturer (Zoology) in the Department of Biological Sciences.

He was promoted to the position of Associate Professor (Microbiology and Biotechnology) on November 2, 2016, in the Department of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science.

“Professor served as Director, TVET in 2018. He was then appointed as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration, Finance and Development) on June 3, 2019, and thereafter confirmed in the same position on June 1, 2020, on a five-year contract up to and including May 31, 2025," said Prof. Isaac Ipara Odeo, Kibabi University’s Vice Chancellor in a statement.

He said his contract was renewed for a further five years with effect from June 1, 2025, up to and including May 31, 2030.

According to the VC, the late reported to work at Kibabii University on Friday, January 23, 2026, and left for home after work.

He said reports from the family indicate that he developed chest pains at around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday and was immediately rushed to Hopkins Hospital, Bungoma, where he passed on while being attended to.

The VC said the late was instrumental to the university at large through various achievements, including, among others, ISO 9001:2015 Certification and Recertification as the Management Representative (MR).

Others were prudent financial and human resource management, improved staff welfare, infrastructure development, hospitality management, and coordinated installation of priority facilities to make the University a conducive environment for both staff and students.

The late Professor, he said, served in many University Committees, key among them the University Management Board and Senate.

“The late Professor is fondly remembered as an educator, a scientist, and a mentor with a longstanding commitment to advancing research, nurturing talent, and addressing health and environmental challenges. He was dedicated to fostering a culture of research, innovation, and academic excellence within Kibabii University,” said Prof. Odeo.

He added: “He was a hands-on and results-oriented transformative leader with a special focus on interpersonal relations and teamwork, resulting in many achievements at institutional, community, and personal levels.”

Bungoma County Governor Kenneth Lusaka mourned the late Prof Siamba, describing him as a distinguished academic and administrator.

“Prof. Namasaka was a distinguished academic and administrator whose contribution to education and institutional growth will be greatly missed. On my behalf and that of the people and Government of Bungoma County, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues, and the entire academic fraternity,” said Lusaka.

Westlands MP Timothy Wanyonyi, who comes from the county, mourned Prof Siamba, describing his death as a big blow. 

“Losing an educationist of Prof Siamba’s stature is a big blow. If our wishes counted for anything, this loss would not have come at a time when we need such minds most for guidance, knowledge sharing, and the betterment of our society,” Wanyonyi posted on his Facebook account.

According to sources, Prof Siamba was due to attend an interview which would’ve seen him become the VC of Kibabii University.

His son Ted Wekesa, who drove him to the hospital on Saturday and died while with him, Prof Siamba was a humble man who never wanted to be idle.

“The death has really affected us. He was everything to us, a humble and simple man at home, even the way he interacted with his employers in a friendly way, more than an employer, loving and provider,” said Wekesa on the phone, the third born in a family of four siblings.

While many recognise the late in his academic work, Prof. Siamba’s love for research and innovation did not end in the lecture halls but in his home compound.

This was revealed by Prof Henry Bwisa, who recently visited his home and recorded a video of his work converting waste into products.

While interviewing his two workers, one female and one male, who had learned skills through apprenticeship under the late, the male security guard, Wilson Sitati, shows Prof Bwisa the innovative work left behind.

“In this compound, there are no scrap metals, be it plastic, bottles, all have been used to make something,” says Sitati as he shows Prof  Bwisa some of the products he has made, including rotating coffee tables made from shock absorbers and other materials.

“If he found you had thrown even waste cups, he would tell you to go collect and bring them,” he added.

The watchman says he learnt from the late don and can now also make some items from waste.

The female cook, known as Joan Cook, shows Prof Bwisa how the late used waste human hair (braids), together with wood, wire, sand, and cement, to make frames and panels that have been used to construct a nearby wall.

 “I have learnt with eyes and given opportunity, I can make the panels since I have seen it with my eyes, since I have not gone to school,” she says.

According to Wekesa, his late father would never sit idle, even on weekends or any day he was free.

“He would come home and make himself busy. He has constructed a gazebo at home with the panels he made himself. He has his documentation from the start to the finish,” he said.

Wekesa said he wanted to develop his plot himself, using the same method he used for the gazebo, but death did not allow him.

Prof Siamba will be buried at his Maeni home in Kimilili Constituency this Saturday, the 7th.