Gem of Siaya: Where professors, scholars abound
Relatives of the late Chief Odera Akang’o at their home in Gem, Siaya County on December 10, 2020. Chief Kang’o is said to have pushed for formal education in Gem which has produced several professors and academicians over the years.
What you need to know:
- Locals often joke that if you randomly throw a stone, you are likely to hit a professor’s head.
- A rough count of current and deceased professors in the area seems to give credence to the legend.
While Gem may not be a popular tourist destination, the Sub County tucked in Siaya County boasts of distinguished professors and scholars, not only in the country but also in the region.
So widespread are the academicians that locals often joke that if you randomly throw a stone, you are likely to hit a professor’s head.
Whereas there are no official statistics on the number of current and deceased professors in the area, a rough count seems to give credence to the contemporary legend.
Being regarded as one of the first areas in the country to embrace formal education, Gem residents attribute the development to the efforts made by colonial chief Odera Akang’o who forcibly enrolled children to compulsory primary education from 1915.
Considered as a benevolent dictator, Akang’o used his own police officers to arrest and cane parents whose children were not going to school.
“He laid the path on which the residents transitioned to higher learning at a time when other parts of the country were either grappling with colonial-instigated violence or preoccupied with means of toppling colonialists,” said renowned historian Prof Bethwel Ogot in a past interview.
Prof Ogot, also a native of Gem Sub County, has also managed to educate his son, Prof Madara Ogot - a don at the University of Nairobi.
Akang’o who was invited to Uganda for the consecration of the Namirembe Cathedral was impressed with how the British education had improved the mannerism of young school-going children and were able to read and write.
His great grandson Mr George Nyamwanga while noting that the colonial chief played an instrumental role in the establishment of St Mary’s School, Yala pointed out that most professors hail from his Kagola clan.
“Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha is one of the generational beneficiaries of the foundation laid by Odera Akang’o,” he said during an interview with Nation.
The former University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor is a professor of Surgery who has published more than 50 research papers in reputed national and international journals.
The area often referred to as the “Gem of Siaya” also produced the first East African to be conferred on a Degree in Science and a Post Graduate in Zoology at the prestigious Oxford University in 1951.
Famous mathematician
The famous Mathematician Carey Francis who taught the late Professor David Simon Wasawo at Alliance High School described the don as the most brilliant student he had ever taught.
Alliance High School alumni Prof Jacob Ogweno Midiwo who was born in Mabinju village in Gem district also rose from a humble background to attain the highest standard of education at University of Maryland, College Park, USA to pursue PhD in Organic Chemistry, researching on fungal mycotoxins with potential in cancer chemotherapy.
The 67-year-old attended Ndori Primary School in Gem before going to Sawagongo High School. He also went through the University of Nairobi where he undertook his BSc degree course in Chemistry.
On the other hand, the late Prof John Kokwaro who passed on in December last year was one of the renowned African botanists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
At the close of the 20th Century Prof Kokwaro had published four parts (books) of the Flora of Tropical East Africa (the highest number published so far by an African botanist).
Born in Gem Kathomo, Prof Joseph Awange who studied at the University of Nairobi and obtained Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Surveying. He has studied in different countries including Germany, Japan and Australia.
His achievements include the development of computer algebra software for solving Global Positioning System-N point problem, Global Positioning System codes. First to the first person to introduce Groebner basis and resultant techniques in geodesy.
Gem also boasts of being the home to the composer of Kenya’s National Anthem. Prof Washington Ambrose Omondi is Associate Professor of Music and Dance, School of Visual and Performing Arts at Kenyatta University
Prof Othuon Ayado who acquired PhD in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methods from the University of British Columbia has also raised Gem’s profile as a granary of professors.
While Argwings Kodhek did not attain the university academic of the highest rank, the man from Gem Malanga went ahead to become Kenya’s first African lawyer to be admitted to the English bar.
Kodhek became the first Kenyan to open a private law firm in 1957 at the height of Mau Mau resistance.
