When going through the history of Gusii community, the name of James Gisemba, a long time serving Mayor of Kisii Town, will definitely recur.
Popular among the political elites and the ordinary people, Gisemba was the darling of a community which has fought marginalisation for years.
Apparently, Gisemba would neither speak in Swahili or English thus making it difficult for him to communicate universally.
Upon his death in 2011, Ex-Minister Simion Nyachae narrated how Gisemba lost speech when inviting President Daniel Moi to address a congregation in 90s..
According to Nyachae, Gisemba was left puzzled for minutes on microphone, visibly unware what to say and how to say it.
With no help from an interpreter, Gisemba would however give his speech in local dialect, only for Nyachae to translate later.
Further, those who mingled with him claim he would buy newspapers every morning and cleverly given someone decent a lift to Kisii Town who would interpret contents of the dailies.