Kisumu Governor, Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o, has paid tribute to two distinguished researchers from the county who passed away this month.
Prof. Nyong’o said the deaths of Prof. Kawango Agot and Dr. Obiero Ong’ang’a wer a big loss to the medical and environmental conservation fraternities in the area.
Until her demise, Prof. Kawango was the founder and Executive Director of the Impact Research Development Organization (IRDO) while Dr. Ong’an’ga was the founder and Executive Director of the Friends of Lake Victoria (OSIENALA) which owned one of the oldest vernacular radio stations in Nyanza – Radio Lake Victoria.
In a statement, Prof. Nyong’o lauded Prof. Kawango for investing her time to studying and researching on HIV/AIDS to support efforts to contain the disease.
“I was honored to have shared a platform with the late Prof. Kawango during the Reducing HIV/AIDS in Adolescents and Young People (RHAY) conference, a unique conference organized by young people under her mentorship in June 2022,” said the Governor.
He eulogized her as a visionary woman, adding that her contribution to understanding HIV control was exemplary and unmatchable.
“She dedicated herself and her team to hours of research and programming in Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention, DREAMS, HIV Testing, and Counseling among others,” he added.
The county boss also said that her passion for the girl child was also espoused in her founding of the Nyanza Initiative for Girls Education and Empowerment, which raises funds to return schoolgirls who dropped out of school due to pregnancy, early marriage, or female genital mutilation.
“As a county, we were extremely proud to have celebrated IRDO’s 20th Anniversary fete in October last year and had looked forward to even greater partnerships in the years to come. Indeed Kisumu County has lost an irreplaceable gem,” he said.
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Nyong’o also mourned Dr. Ong’ang’a, saying the researcher, scientist and educationist will be remembered as a champion of community empowerment through community media as well as a trailblazer in environmental conservation around the Great Lakes region.
He said that through OSIENALA, Dr. Ong’ang’a championed the fight against the invasive water hyacinth that has been the biggest threat to the conservation of Lake Victoria.
“Dr. Ong’ang’a also led a campaign to fight the destruction of Gwasi Hills in Homa Bay County,” said Nyong’o.
“I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to the friends and families of the late Prof. Kawango Agot and Dr. Obiero Ong’ang’a,” he added.
By Fredrick Odiero
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