• Thursday, 28 March 2024
THE STATESMAN INSIDER: Story behind Senator Eddy Oketch's middle name 'Gicheru'

THE STATESMAN INSIDER: Story behind Senator Eddy Oketch's middle name 'Gicheru'

Migori Senator Eddy Oketch has explained the source of his middle 'Gicheru'. 

Being a senator of Migori County majorly inhabited by Luos and Kuria communities. 

During an interview with Spice FM, Oketch revealed he was born and raised in Uriri, a village in Migori,  till 2003 when his mother passed on. 

 

"When I lost my mother, life became a little hard in the village. Then, we were tobacco farmers," he said. 

Oketch said they were not well-established tobacco farmers like other families in the area and when his mother died, it became more tough.

"Because of that, I dropped out of school a little bit. Then I found my way into Migori town," he said. 

In Migori town, he ended up living with a number of families which gave him opportunities.

From the opportunities he was able to get, Oketch found himself in the backstreets of Nairobi. 

While living in the streets of Nairobi trying to make sense of the world, the Senator said he ended up living with seven families. 

"These foster families supported me to go to school and I highly appreciate them," he said. 

 

"One is a lawyer in Nairobi town who paid my fees while another was a teacher in Migori who stayed with me for some time."

Oketch said one of the families that got him out of the streets and gave him a chance to be who he is today was the Gicheru family.

"I felt that because the Gicheru family took me back to school, it would be important that they be part of my life, of who I am. Thus the middle name Gicheru," he said.  

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