Former Migori deputy governor Mwita Mahanga has been eulogised as an honest man who served with integrity.
Mahanga served as a deputy under former governor Okoth Obado when they were elected on a PDP ticket in 2013 and later for a second term.
The former DG died on September 9 at MP Shah Hospital, Nairobi after a long battle with illness and will be buried on September 21 at his rural home.
“He was an honourable man, had integrity and was hardworking and I am not saying that because he is my father, but his record as a professional, banker, marketer and public officer speaks volumes,” Jane Mahanga, his daughter said.
He was speaking Wednesday at Posta grounds in Migori town where his body underwent public viewing before the funeral in Kehancha town.
Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko called for county flags to be flown at half-mast for the next two days to mourn Mahanga.
“He was our leader and as residents we employed him and he served us well, we will join the family in mourning him,” Ayacko said.
Former Permanent Secretary Nelson Marwa and Deputy Governor Mahiri Gimunta celebrated him as a national leader.
“He was among the first people from Kuria to gain education and join a profession and politics which inspired a generation including us young leaders. He was a leader we looked up to,” Gimunta said.
Marwa said the deceased was a leader who strived to unite not only the Kuria community but also the county.
An ardent Seventh Day Adventist Church member, Mahanga often chose between church and public community gatherings.
Mahanga went to Friends Schools Kamusinga and later graduated with BA in Lands Economics from the University of Nairobi in 1977 before working as an Estates Officer in the Ministry of Housing.
In 1990, he got a Master in Business Administration from USIU with a bias in Marketing and Management and later a Degree in Banking from London Chartered Institute of Bankers.
From 1978 he worked in the Agriculture Finance Corporation, Cooperative Bank of Kenya, Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and even a senior lecturer in banking before joining politics as a Kuria MP in 1997.
