Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti made his first public appearance in many months, miles away from Kenya, a move that may raise questions about the progress of his health.
Last month, after days of struggling with blindness brought about by his diabetes condition, Awiti informed the public that he was headed to Germany for eyesight operation. He handed over duties to his deputy, Hamilton Orata.
“All affairs of the county will be run by the deputy governor as it has been since the governor has been unwell,” said Juma Aluoch, his Communication Director as quoted by the Nation.
“There is no cause for alarm and all residents will get relevant services from the county. There is no vacuum.”
Awiti won Supreme Court election petition after losing in lower courts to his competitor Oyugi Magwanga. The two, however, pledged to work together for the sake of Homa Bay people.
On Thursday, he was pictured with Mayor Matthias Weckbach of Bodman Ludewigshafen in Germany, where he walked around freely doing benchmarking on urban water infrastructure.
"Held meetings with Mayor Matthias Weckbach of Bodman Ludwigshafen in Germany where we shared our experiences on urban water infrastructure. The mayor demonstrated how their lake based drinking water supply system from Lake Constance supplies the federal state of Baden-Wurttenmberg.
"We agreed to form a partnership that will include an exchange program between Homa Bay County and Bodman Ludwigshafen that will have our water experts trained and share experiences in lake water infrastructure for Kenya and Germany respectively. I am grateful to the Mayor for his offer of donating water equipment to Homa Bay County," he wrote on his Facebook.
Back at home, a section of legislators led by Millie Odhiambo, Opondo Kaluma and Senator Moses Kajwang', have been calling for his resignation, arguing that his health could not allow him to continue working.