Elderly man dies leaving 148 children, 35 widows

Kathathene Villagers at Kaurine sub-location, Miori location in Igembe Central are grieving after the death of Ayub Kathata, their most popular magician, traditional herbalist and witchdoctor who died after a short illness.

According to his son, Mr Robert Ramu, Kathata, who died between the ages of 98 and 105 (opinion is divided), is survived by 35 widows and 148 children, comprising of 83 sons and 65 daughters.

The deceased was allegedly renown for his practice of performing rituals, which reportedly put him in the Ameru community books of history.

Ramu narrated how his dad was believed to use magical powers to net thieves for a fee when anyone needed his assistance, adding that he could turn his property into anything he wished in time of need.

During one such incident in 1975 when shifta bandits came to steal his cattle, Kathata is believed to have turned his cattle into stones so that the thieves would not recognize them and used bees to sting the bandits as an attack tactic.

Kathata is going to be remembered for establishing two elementary primary schools, Kathathene and Kinna, solely to educate his children.

Moreover, his herbal medicine allegedly won the people’s hearts due to its effectiveness in healing various diseases such that they relied on it instead of visiting hospitals, residents claim.

 The life of Kathata and the nature of his family closely resembles that of the infamous Ancestus Ogwella Akuku, best remembered as Akuku Danger, who had more than 100 wives and over 200 children.

At 35, Akuku had already married his 45th wife, earning him the name ‘Danger’ because of his way with women and love for polygamy.

He had luck with women as he seduced them with laughter and dance in his heyday.

Akuku had established five homesteads, with the major one which he used to refer to as the headquarters located at Aora Chuondho in Kwabway Location, Nyarongi Division, Ndhiwa district in Homa-Bay County.

Due to the large size of his family, he established two primary schools on his own where most of his children attended school.

He had the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian since most of his children spent their time at home during school holidays tending to farm work or herding his big herds. A fact that led to handsome yields which they sold to earn their school fees.

Report by Koome Kimencu