Kendu Bay Town offers a haven of religious tolerance

When a town is made up of two sections, old and new, like Kendu Bay in Homa Bay County, its residents probably have an interesting explanation for this.

A story is told of how Arabs, the first settlers in the town, found their hosts most welcoming and kind.

The word “kind” means “between” if loosely translated to Dholuo, hence the word kind was pronounced “kindu” which became the name of the present day Kendu Bay to mean a place in the middle.

Kanyasoro is the local name for Kendu Bay.

Situated in the vast semi-arid plains of Rachuonyo, Kendu Bay town traces its origins to 1912 when Arab settlers who came to trade and spread Islam settled in the area.

TWO SECTIONS

Interestingly, it has two distinct sections, one harbouring what is now known as Old Kendu Town where archaic buildings almost in ruins evoke memories of Arab dukawallahs who owned the shops while new Kendu Bay town is situated on the busy Kisumu-Homa Bay Road.

The amazingly peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians in Kendu Bay will perplex if not humble any first time visitor to this town with its tens of mosques and other Islamic institutions.

On the economic front, Kendu Bay offers a ready market for millet and cassava produced in the expansive Rachuonyo, a region characterised by consistent dry spells.

Most residents still wish for the good old days when the cotton processing industry thrived in the town.

COTTON GROWING

Before the collapse of cotton growing, Kendu Town had one of the largest ginneries in the former cotton growing belt of South Nyanza.

Visitors to the town need not worry about accommodation and entertainment as fine hotels like the Big Five, The Roman and Maryland Restaurant will pander to their every whims.

Kendu Bay also boasts of beautiful sceneries and historical places.

The mythical Lake Simbi Nyaima that has attracted flamingos from Rift Valley lakes in their dozens, is a 15-minute drive from Kendu Bay Town.

Of significant interest too is US President Barack Obama’s ancestral roots, a few minutes’ drive from the town.

POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHTS

Kendu Bay also boasts of being situated close to the birth places of former political heavyweights such as Okiki Amayo, Phoebe Asiyo and Adhu Awiti, who were opinion shapers of their times.

In matters education, the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University and the neighbouring Kosele offer succour to knowledge-thirsty scholars.

Other notable institutions in and around the town are Mawego Technical Institute, Gendia Adventist Mission Hospital Medical College and Gendia High School.

The annual Kendu Bay ASK show is a memorable event that residents look forward to every year.

A joke goes round that Kendu Town women married elsewhere feign homesickness just to be able to attend the show.

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