He went from street child to prison to pulpit, leading ACK churches in Vihiga
by The Star
Audio By Vocalize
Padre Michael Okuoko speaks to Star at his home in Emukusa parish, Luanda subcounty
When he was a child, Padre Michael Okuoko dreamed of becoming a military officer. His life took many twists before he became a renowned man of God instead.
At the time, the thirdborn in a family of five was languishing in poverty in Mundichiri village, Emuhaya subcounty, Vihiga county.
His father was jobless and was sustaining the family through casual work until 1992, when he died after a short illness.
“After his death, mum was our last hope. Unfortunately, she never lasted in that marriage. She abandoned us like we were not her kids,” Okuoko told the Star at the Emukusa parish in Luanda subcounty, where he lives.
After their mother’s departure, they were left on their own to struggle for a living despite being underage.
The father of two, now 35, says life was so unbearable to a point his sister opted for early marriage, which came with so many complications that led to her early death back in 2008.
Some of his siblings had to seek refuge at their uncle's place. For him, he had to stay with his auntie in Got Nyabondo, Kisumu.
Okuoko says he was "enslaved" at his aunt's place in 1997 instead of being taken to school.
"My job was to take care of the kid, fetch water, collect firewood, clean the house and do the rest of the house chores," he said.
Unfortunately, the child died in 1998, which gave Okuoko a chance to be taken to school in 1999, but he still had to juggle with home chores.
“Getting food in her house was a big dream as she kept determining when and at what time to eat,” he said.
Okuoko says after school closed, he had an opportunity to visit his mum's sister in Luanda constituency, where his life took a new turn again.
“I never had an opportunity to sleep on a mattress and blanket. That was my first time,” he said.
He says the reason why he never had the liberty of enjoying the mattress and the blankets at the previous home was that he was urinating in bed.
Padre Machael Okuoko peruses through some documents after a church service.
JOURNEY TO THE STREETS
In 2000, Okuoko joined Mumboha Primary School in Class 4, while at his mum’s sister's place.
He says while in that family, the mother-in-law of his mum’s sister framed him for a sex scandal that he wouldn’t escape.
"After school, evening hours, while arriving home, I just bumped into that old lady. She started shouting at me, you won't stay here you aren't a kid to this family, why are you engaging in sex with your cousins?" he recalls.
Okuoko was never given a chance to explain himself. He was kicked out like a wild dog, forcing him to spend the night on a mango tree.
The father of two says he had to seek refuge but the only place he could survive, he was denied entry in fear of the old lady who had kicked him out.
"Now I want to be in school, I need food, I need to take a shower, but I have no place to access that. So I was left with only one option: to join the street family,” he said.
Okuoko says balancing classes and fighting for food in the streets became a big problem, leaving him with no option but to exit the school and focus on how to get food.
In the streets, he had to exchange blows with other kids for survival as they were always struggling for survival on minimal resources.
Sourcing food from the market was another problem, which made him engage in theft sometimes and selling things like polythene bags and radio batteries in the market.
“Sometimes robbery was necessary when the business failed to work because what we were selling wasn’t ours, but we were working on commissions,” he said.
“Sleeping was no longer an issue because I had adapted to street life. We used to spend the nights in funerals or on verandas within the town.
“But while in the streets, I never went for these drugs that most street families go for. That was the only funny thing in my life there,” Okuoko said.
Okuoko had gone to a video shop just for entertainment, and the owner of the shop offered to secure a place for him to stay and focus on his studies, which he accepted.
"I was taken to a padre's house at Emukusa parish. Upon arriving there, Padre Simon Mabinda then asked me if was ready to stay with him," he said.
Okuoko says he wasn't able to comply with that. He had to go back to the normal life of the street family.
“While in the streets, sometimes I would sneak to school but not beyond one class,” Okuoko said.
The very day Okuoko had sneaked to school, Padre was tipped off and he cornered him during lunch hour, when he was walking out the church gate.
Padre Madinda took him to his house, gave him food and took him back to school.
“In the evening, Padre took me from school to his home. While there, I met some kids whom I had seen in school. So we were given food and water to shower and a place to sleep,” he said.
Okuoko says despite staying there, transforming from street life was another problem. But he had to stay till the final exams in 2005, where he scored 128 marks.
Despite scoring poorly at KCPE, he was offered a chance at Mumboha Secondary School, where he eventually scored D- in 2009.
He said after Form 4, he had to leave the parish and seek a new life in Nairobi, where his elder brothers were, for casual jobs for life to go on in early 2010.
In August the same year, Padre called him for evangelist interviews, which he tried but did not make it through.
In prison, no one knew where I was. Those I was with in the matatu ran away, so I was left wondering what next
LANDING IN PRISON
After losing the chance, Okuoko made his way back to Nairobi for casual work, though in the city, he says life was not that easy.
In 2011, he came back for another interview but flopped for the second time.
"There was one of the Padre's friends who had matatus on the road serving the Luanda-Bungoma route, and I was hired as a conductor," he said.
With time, he adapted to matatu life and did what a conductor could do while on the road.
"At the end of the day, you have to report back to your boss on how you worked and have something in your pocket," he said.
One day, during the normal routine at Sabatia stage in Kakamega county, Okuoko was arrested by a traffic officer for touting and taken to Butere police station.
“While appearing in that court chamber for the first time, I had no knowledge of what I should do. So I was just moved by the majority in the chamber. I thought, 'They have denied the charges so, let me deny, too,'” he said.
Okuoko was taken to Kakamega prison, where life became unbearable, with no relative to inform him of what was happening to him.
"In prison, no one knew where I was. Those I was with in the matatu ran away, so I was left wondering what next," he said.
"After 14 days, I was to be arraigned in court again. Unfortunately, someone removed my name from the list, so I was left in that prison for 14 more days."
Within that short period in prison, he went through hell.
“Those prison reforms for Moody Awori and Kalonzo Musyoka, leave them for the media. Inside there (prison), the story is totally different," he said.
“The prison itself was congested, sleeping was a problem. We were queuing up first then within that line is how you sleep till morning, no turning on that floor,” Padre said.
The padre says mosquitoes, bedbugs and flies were daily friends while sleeping.
“Food was another problem. What was being served wasn’t fit for human consumption, but people were fighting for it. It was either you eat or you stay hungry,” he recalled.
He termed sodomy as the worst thing he ever witnessed in prison, more so for those who were not able to defend themselves. However, worse was to come from the wardens.
“Forget all those problems from other inmates. The wardens, they can even kill you and allege you died over complications as you were not able to sustain yourself within the prison environment,” he said.
He says some prisoners, himself included, could survive the inmates’ problems, but there wasn’t any escape route from the wardens’ problem that they were subjected to on a daily basis.
He had that power of preaching even in school. He would preach in the parade and other school events as well
SALVATION AT LAST
Okuoko says from the conversation in prison among inmates, he was left wondering why he was in prison in the first place.
“What I used to hear was, 'I am here because of murder, robbery, rape...' Some would even say with the kind of crimes they had committed, they had no chance of walking out of prison,” he said.
“So I asked myself, why am I here? Just for harassing passengers on the road and stage?”
Padre says he had to convert himself from the weird experience he had in prison to Christianity.
His conversion did not go unnoticed when he left prison. He was appointed as a youth leader in church, where he acquired leadership skills. He was then taken back to Hobunaka Secondary School, where he scored a D+ in 2012.
In 2013, Okuoko joined St Philips Theology School in Maseno, even though going through the training was an uphill task due to the financial crisis.
"Even after my enrollment, money to pay my fees was another challenge, which kept me in and out of school," Okuoko said.
Upon completing college, he was deployed to various churches under the ACK diocese.
"After finishing the training, I went to Khwiliba ACK church as an intern, then transferred to Soy Parish as a junior pastor for two years. From there, I went to Lugulu Parish as a seminary pastor for two years,” he said.
Okuoko was later transferred to Lumakanda parish for one year, then to Wandeche parish before moving to Emukusa parish.
Emukusa parish has four churches under it: St Stephen ACK church in Mumboha, St Luke ACK church in Emutsuru, St Philip Ack church in Epang'a and St Mark ACK church in Mulwakhi.
He said Emukusa parish is under Maseno North Diocese of Anglican church, led by Bishop Charles Asilutwa.
“My transfer to Emukusa parish wasn’t that easy for me because this is the place I was raised in. They have my history. But the Bishop convinced me and I accepted,” he said.
Among his worshipers are Samuel Okaka and Harrison Ambuko. They say Okuoko is a spiritual leader and he has touched many souls in the community.
Okaka says as they were growing up as young boys, they never knew that Okuoko would be an evangelist. His spiritual nourishment kept shining on him but went unsung.
"He had that power of preaching. Even in school, he would preach in the parade and other strong school events as well," he says.
"Among the many in the school, he is the only one who came out as a servant of God."
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