Reports Leo Odera Omolo in Kisumu City.

Death has occurred of one of the most prominent and eligible polygamist in Kenya Mzee Ancentus Akuku Ogwela, alias Akuku Denja {Dangerman]. He was aged about 94 years.

File | NATION Polygamist Mzee Akuku ‘Danger’ with family members. He died on Saturday.

He collapsed in one of his homesteads and died on Saturday night, but had been unwell for sometimes.

Considered as one of the wealthiest Luo man during the years of early 1940 and late 1950s, Akuku Danja is believed to have married more than 100 wives. At the time of his death he had about 43 of them have either died of old age while other left on their own volition or divorced for one or the other reasons. Mzee Akuku Denja hails from Kanyamwa sub-clan of the Luos, in the same clan of the legend medicine and the greatest witchdoctor of all the time Gor Mahia son of Ogada.

Akuku Denja had established five homesteads with the major one which he used to referred as the headquarters located at Aora Chuondho in Kwabway Location,Nyarongi Division, Ndhiwa district in Homa-Bay County. The homestead is next to the market and also next to the main-Rodi Kopany-Karungu Sori. He had another home in his native Kanyamwa with the third major home homestead established in Karungu East, Sori Division in Nyatike district in Migori County.

Standing at about 6feet 4 inches and heavily built. Akuku Denja was a humanist, friendly, jokily and wearing a smiling face all the time. He earned the name Danger because he preferred calling anyone who he comes across “Danger Man “including friends and foes, his sons in-law and relatives.

An industrious man with lust for education Akuku Denja built and established three primary school on his own where the large number of his children estimated to be in excess of 250tool their early elementary education before proceeding to other schools and institutions of higher learning.

He had the best part of his wealth educating his children some who have excelled and graduates from public universities. One of his eldest sons the late Pius Olima Akuku a trained lawyer had served the government of Kenya as a resident magistrate before going into private law practicing business.

He had many sons and daughters who received good education and who are presently serving the country either in the public and private sector.

The Danger Man was reputed as strictly disciplinarians. Most of his children spent their time at home during school holidays tending to farm work or herding his large number of domestic animals. Despite having the largest number of wives and children the Danger Man’s home is a place where famine and hunger is out of bound. His wives and children engaged themselves, in farm work resulting in good yield almost every year, which is sufficient in feeding the largest family in modern Kenya with enough surpluses for selling and generating school fees.

Akuku Denjas own married daughters are not allowed to walk back home without written consent of their husband, giving specific reason for the visit, the specific number of days permi9tted for the wife to stay at home with her parents. Any of his already married daughters who simply walks back homer without a written permission from their husband are given specific time and hours, during which they must end their visit and travel back to their husband’s homes, failure of which they faced forceful deportation out of Danger man’s home.

On arrival home the daughters’ reports at the father office and registered their presence before proceeding to their own mother’s houses. His brothers-in-laws on a visit to one of his wives must also register their arrival at the Danger man’s office before proceeding to their sister’s houses in similar fashion. The family works as a team, especially during the cuoti8vation, weeding and harvesting times.

There are unconfirmed reports that his wives are transferable from one home to the other within his five homesteads. For example he would simply walk into his homestead in Kanyamwa and ordered any of his wives living there to proceed to the Headquarters at Aora Chuodho and the woman must obey or else she could find herself forcefully being deported to the headquarters even without her consent.

Akuku Denja acquired his wealth after a humble beginning life as a tailoring man and then venture into farm produce buying and selling and shop-keeping and was later to become the first man to purchase a motor vehicle in his own village in the late 1940s.

A case in point is an incident which occurred a couple of years ago when one of his daughter who was married to a wealthy businessman in Homa-Bay, who had abandoned a small child with her husband and was seen roaming about with some youths, most of them high school students. She was seen in dance halls and other public joint.Akuku Denja sent her a warning toi return to her husband and child as quickly as possible.

When she defied his warning, the old man registered the complains with children offices and to the police at Homa-Bay. And the young mother was apprehended and sentenced to six months imprisonment for neglecting her child. While she was serving her prison sentenced Akuku Denja offered her younger and perhaps best educated sister to the businessman.

Upon coming out of prison the young mother vowed not to go anywhere, but rejoined young her husband and child so the businessman, ended up having married to two young women .from one family of the Danger Man. Whenever his daughters disagreed with their husbands on petty domestic squabbles they do avoid going directly back to their parents home, but only ending up visiting relatives in the neighborhood before going back to their husband. This has made Akuku Denja’s dozens of daughter the most liked women and men are competing to get married to them. They are loosely called “Nyar-Danger”{ meaning the daughter of danger man]

He will always ne remembered as a development conscience man who9 contributed part of his hard earned wealth towards the development of schools, dispensaries,health centers and other economic infrastructure in both Ndhiwa and Nyatike constituencies.

He was a closed friend of both the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and the late Tom Mboya, the former Minister for Economic Planning wjh0 was assassinated in 1969 and his close political associate Dr Joseph Gordon Odero-Jowi who alter served as Kenya’s Ambassador to the Un after losing his Ndhiwa parliamentary seat in the 1969,

In 1962 immediately soon after the founding President the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was released from colonial jails in Northern Kenya and during his first visit to Southern Nyanza Mzee Akuku Denja was one among the elderly who spoke at a meeting between him and Luo elders from the region. The same happen when Kenyatta visited the region in 1966 as the president of n independent Kenya, Akuku Denja was one of the elderly spokesmen.

When Mzee Kenyatta was jokingly told by Mboya that Akuku Denja had more than 50 wives and was accompanied at the meeting by a young woman, one of his latest at the time, Kenyatta took a careful look at him and Jokingly remarked “Kumbe yeye ni Dume kweli kweli”{he is a real bull] sparing a prolong laughter by the elders in attendance of the meeting which was held at the Homa-Bay D.C’s residence.

The late Asentus Akuku ‘Danger’ poses with his youngest wife Christine Ajwang’ at his home in Ndhiwa in this 2008 photog

Akuku Denja also developed close working relations with the one time two terms Ndhiwa MPs Zablon Owigo Olang’ and another former area MP Matthews Otieno Ogingo’ Upon learning of his sudden death Owigo Olang sent his heartfelt condolences to the family. He paid a glowing tribute to Danger man, saying his loss is irreplaceable. He aid the grand old man was steadfast in development undertaking and activities and was progressive and hard working, but humble man wh9i loved everyone.

Mzee Akuku had been reportedly unwell for close to three years, and at time was seen walking with the support of walking sticks which looked like crunches. He had promised this writer an up-date interview sometime back, but it never materialized.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com