Photos from a condolence visit to former Bumula MP Bifwoli Wakoli’s rural home in Siboti have triggered a wave of concern among Kenyans online, after Bungoma gubernatorial aspirant Tim Wanyonyi shared images from the occasion on social media.
Wanyonyi made the trip on Monday, October 20, to join the Bifwoli family in mourning their matriarch, Mayi Josephine Namukabo Bifwoli, who passed away at the remarkable age of 103.
Beyond the condolence visit, Wanyonyi used the occasion to engage locals on devolution matters and drum up support for Edwin Sifuna’s presidential ambitions.
Photos of Bifwoli Wakolis home
The photos Wanyonyi shared painted a vivid picture of life at the former MP’s home.
The first image showed a large outdoor gathering on a wide, open grassy compound dotted with dry leaves and mature shade trees.
A modest single-storey structure with reddish-brown brick walls and a weathered corrugated iron roof served as the backdrop.
Wanyonyi, seated in his red-and-black motorised wheelchair and dressed in a light blue cap and shirt, addressed the crowd from under a black umbrella using a microphone stand.
The second photo offered a look inside the living room, where Wanyonyi leaned forward from his wheelchair to share a fist-bump with an older man in a dark suit seated on a brown upholstered sofa with mustard-yellow cushions.
The walls were plain beige, a patterned curtain hung across a doorway in the background, and the reddish polished floor showed visible cracks.
The images did not go unnoticed.
Several Kenyans commented, some with surprise and others with condolences for the bereaved family.
@dednarber wrote:
“And that is the house of a former Assistant Minister, let alone a mere teacher.”
Mercy Saiti simply asked:
“Is that his house?”
Not everyone focused on the property.
Ckj Wycliffes Wafula called Wanyonyi’s gesture a good one, while Mkurugenzi Brian wrote:
“Sending my heartfelt condolences to the family of Bifwoli Wakoli.”
Jacqueline Sollo Sigowo added:
“Sorry for the loss.”
The photos reignited a familiar conversation among Kenyans about the financial realities facing many former politicians once they leave public office, with the modest setting standing in contrast to the status the former MP once held in political circles.
