Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah is mourning the death of his elder sister, Mwalimu Mary Goretti Wamukoya, a retired teacher who died after a prolonged illness.
Omtatah announced the passing on Monday, August 31, 2026, through a tribute posted on his official X account, describing the loss as a moment of “profound sorrow” for the Okoiti and Musita families.
“It is with profound sorrow that I mourn the passing of my beloved sister, Mwalimu Mary Goretti Wamukoya, who departed this life on 21st August 2026 after a long illness bravely borne,” Omtatah wrote. He eulogized her as “a woman of strength, kindness, wisdom and unwavering devotion to her family.”
A family matriarch and educator
Beyond the senator’s statement, family records show Wamukoya’s life was deeply rooted in education and family.
Born in 1958, she carried the title “Mwalimu” — a Swahili honorific reserved for respected educators after a career in teaching. She was married to Mwalimu Fanuel Musita of Bungoma County.
She was a daughter of the late Patrick Okoiti and Wilhemina Okoiti and was one of the elder siblings in the Okoiti family. Omtatah, born on November 30, 1964 in Busia, is the lastborn and only son among five siblings in the family, a background he has credited for shaping his worldview on social justice.
Wamukoya is survived by her husband, five children — including Dr. David Musita who is based in Sweden, and Dr. Patrick Musita of Kitale County Hospital, Inviolata Musita of Kocholya, and Consolata and Albert Musita of Nairobi — and 13 grandchildren. Citizen Digital reports the family also includes 11 grandchildren and several siblings including Regina Kalasinga, Petronilla, Valerie, Catherine, Kizito, Bernard, Isidore, Theresea, Lucy and Magdalene.
Context of the loss
The death comes as a second major family bereavement for the senator. In April 2020, Omtatah lost his third-born daughter, 21-year-old Maryann Marisyanna Annuarite, a third-year Diplomacy student at Riara University, to acute malaria.
Omtatah, who rose to national prominence as a public-interest litigator before being elected Busia Senator in 2022 as an independent, has often described his family as private citizens who learn of his activism through the media.
He closed his tribute with a prayer for strength for both families and a biblical reference: “May God grant the Musita and Okoiti families strength and comfort during this difficult time,” he wrote, adding that Wamukoya had “fought a good fight, finished the race and kept the faith” — a line drawn from 2 Timothy 4:7.
Burial arrangements
According to the family, her body is lying at Delights Funeral Home in Bungoma. The cortege will leave the facility on Saturday, September 5, for burial at her matrimonial home in Kabula, Bungoma County.
“It is with profound sorrow that I mourn the passing of my beloved sister, Mwalimu Mary Goretti Wamukoya, who departed this life on 21st August 2026 after a long illness bravely borne,” Omtatah wrote. He eulogized her as “a woman of strength, kindness, wisdom and unwavering devotion to her family.”
senator okiya omtatah
