President William Ruto, during his tour to Homa Bay, where he is expected to address the Devolution Conference as one of the keynote speakers, fried fish at the shores of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay County on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

The president began by washing his hands before a fish could be brought to him. He took the fish and inserted it into the boiling oil, something that led to cheers in the background by the onlookers and leaders who had accompanied him, which included the host governor, Gladys Wanga.

As he was doing so, soft Luo music was playing in the background as he carried out the whole exercise, and as he was doing this, darkness had begun setting in.

This was part of appreciating the staple food of the region, which is predominantly fish, while also appreciating the economic activity of the area, which is fish farming, advantaged by their close proximity to the lake, with Lake Victoria being at its largest in Homa Bay County as compared to the other counties.

Devolution conference

The country’s attention has now turned to Homa Bay, with them now wanting to see what will come out of the Devolution Conference that began on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, and will end on the 15th. Since Sunday, the county has been bustling with activities, with the governor gracing several events as part of the pre-Devolution Conference aimed at preparing for the Devolution Conference.

The governor graced a 48-hour hackathon which was aimed at coming up with real tech solutions, where the winners are expected to win several awards, with some being allowed to gain entry into the conference, with a booth set up for them to showcase their products to the guests, with some also being absorbed by sponsors of the hackathon into their tech garages.

“The winners will be accredited free of charge to access the conference, and we will even give you a small space in our booth to display to people what you are doing,” Wanga said.

President Ruto, who arrived in the county later in the day after attending the International Youth Conference in Kakamega Town, was received by Gladys Wanga and met a group of grassroots women drawn from Nyanza counties at the Homa Bay State Lounge.