Joel Okwako: From gravedigger to MCA

Nominated MCA Joel Okwako.

Joel Okwako, 33, the last born in a family of nine children has seen it all. First, he lost his father Daniel Opete in 2006 after he succumbed to liver cancer and later his mother in 2011 who succumbed to throat cancer. This was after he had completed his secondary education at Chebuyusi Boys High School in Navakholo Constituency.

"My mother was a strong woman and was the remaining pillar of our family. Even at her deathbed, she encouraged me to have hope and be strong. After her burial, I relocated to Mombasa in search of greener pastures after realising that time had come for me to be self-reliant," Okwako told The Nairobian.