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Wetang’ula appeals for prayers at cousin’s burial after family suffers multiple losses

Friday 02nd January, 2026 06:24 PM| By Mustafa Juma

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has made an emotional appeal for prayers after revealing that his extended family has endured a series of painful losses over the past year.

Taking to his official X account on Friday, January 2, 2025, after the burial of his cousin, Simon Wekesa Wetang’ula, at Mukhweya village in Kabuchai Constituency, Bungoma County, the Ford Kenya party leader said he had told mourners that the family was going through a difficult and trying season marked by repeated bereavements.

Wetang’ula urged the church and the community to keep his family in prayer as they navigate grief while ushering in the new year.

“Today, as we laid to rest my cousin, Simon Wekesa Wetang’ula, at his home in Mukhweya, Kabuchai Constituency, Bungoma County, I urged the church to keep our extended family in prayer after losing several loved ones over the past year. I told mourners that we are going through a difficult period and can only overcome these challenges through faith as we begin the new year,” Wetang’ula stated.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula during the burial of his cousin, Simon Wekesa Wetang’ula, at Mukhweya village in Kabuchai Constituency, Bungoma County. PHOTO/@HonWetangula/X

Wetang’ula warns coffee cartels

While addressing mourners, Wetang’ula also touched on broader issues affecting the region, including the plight of farmers and youth empowerment.

“I also issued a stern warning to cartels exploiting coffee farmers, saying their days are numbered, and the vice must end. While encouraging farmers to embrace coffee as an alternative cash crop to maize and sugarcane, I noted that cartels working with corrupt cooperative officials remain the biggest obstacle despite Bungoma being a leading coffee-producing county,” he wrote on X.

A screenshot of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula’s post. PHOTO/Screengrab by People Daily Digital from a statement shared on X by @HonWetangula

Wetang’ula’s brother James Mukhwana’s death

About three weeks ago, Wetang’ula’s family mourned the death of their brother, James Mukhwana Wetang’ula.

Mukhwana, a renowned educationist and disciplinarian, was the eldest son of the senior Dominic Wetang’ula and a brother to Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi and the National Assembly Speaker, Moses.

In January 2025, Wetang’ula lost his mother, Ann Nanyama, whose burial was attended by President William Ruto.