Family and friends at Bonchari MP Oroo Oyioka funeral in Kisii

Family members at the burial of Bonchari MP Oroo Oyioka in Kisii on Friday. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Bonchari MP John Oroo Oyioka is being interred today at his Suneka home in Kisii.

The body was this morning flown to Suneka Airstrip from Nairobi. The funeral ceremony is being conducted at Itierio Boys High School playground.

The MP died at Kisumu’s Aga Khan Hospital on Monday last week after a long illness.

The legislator was admitted to one of the private hospitals in Kisumu town late last month.

A priest prays for the body of MP Oroo Oyioka in Kisii on Friday. [Eric Abuga]

Mid last year, Oroo suffered a mild stroke and was admitted to the same hospital before he was later referred to Nairobi.

A brief and intimate requiem mass was held on Wednesday at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi for the late Bonchari MP.

The mass, which lasted just an hour and a half, was attended by Oyioka’s widows, Teresa Bitutu and Pamela Atieno, as well as a handful of other family members, friends and political leaders.

The late Bonchari MP John Oroo’s widow Pamela Atieno with their son Junior Oroo. [Eric Abuga, Standard]

The hurried mass also featured just two speeches - from Bobasi MP Innocent Momanyi who read the eulogy and another from National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.

Moving tributes wrote in the eulogy book made it clear that Oyioka's death had left an immense gap in the lives of the people closest to him.

“You were a remarkable man; dependable, loving and caring. You made me smile, you made me laugh. You were my companion and dear friend. You were a wonderful husband from the beginning to the end,” wrote Oyioka’s first wife, Bitutu.

His second wife, Atieno, remembered him as not just a husband and father but also a mentor, friend and employer.

Muturi who remembered the late Oyioka for his contributions to education also highlighted the need for prayers following the recent string of deaths of MPs.

Oyioka's colleagues and family members eulogized the 71-year-old MP as a leader who made monumental contributions to his constituency and Kenya's education sector, through his roles as an educator and member of the parliamentary education committee.

Hon Oyioka, a retired teacher and education official, was a second-term MP elected on a People's Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.