Lovingly known as “Mama Akinyi”
3 September 1962 — 31 October 2026 · aged 64
Kibuye Market fish trader who raised nine children on tilapia and trust
Kisumu, Kenya Born in Kendu Bay, Homa Bay County Resting at Family home, Kobama, Kendu BayWith deep sorrow and humble acceptance of God's will we announce the passing of ROSE AKINYI ODHIAMBO, Kibuye Market trader and treasurer of Dala Women Savings Group, on 31st October 2026 at JOOTRH, Kisumu. Widow of the late Zablon Odhiambo; mother to Dennis, Beryl, Jacob, Millicent and others; mother-in-law to many; grandmother to eleven. Sister to Mama Nyar Seme and Joseph Onyango. Family and friends meet daily at Kobama, Kendu Bay, at 5.00 pm. Cortege leaves Kisumu Funeral Home on Friday 20th November for Requiem Mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church, Kendu Bay, on Saturday 21st November, then burial at home. M-Pesa Paybill 744310, Account AKINYI. Rest in peace.
Before the sun touched Lake Victoria, Rose Akinyi Odhiambo was already at Dunga beach, waiting for the boats. For thirty-eight years she was the first buyer at the water's edge and the last seller to leave Kibuye Market, and her stall of tilapia, omena and dried fish was so reliable that several hotels along Oginga Odinga Street sent their cooks to her door.
She was born in Kendu Bay in 1962, the eldest girl in a family of eight, and left school after Form Two when her father's boat was lost to a storm. She married Zablon Odhiambo in 1983, and when he passed away in 2009 she carried the household alone, selling fish by day and counting school fees by lamplight. All nine of her children finished secondary school. Two are now teachers, one is a clinical officer, and one drives a lorry for a Mombasa transporter who still asks after her.
Mama Akinyi kept her books in a red exercise book and her wisdom in sayings. She extended credit to widows and never wrote their names in the book. She served as treasurer of Dala Women Savings Group for twenty-seven years, and the group has never lost a shilling. On Sundays she wore her best lesso to Mass at St. Peter's, sang louder than anyone, and fried a tilapia for whoever sat at her table afterwards.
She loved Gor Mahia, listened to Ramogi FM at dawn, and could name every fisherman on the lake by the sound of his engine. She died peacefully at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital on 31 October 2026, after a short illness.
She is survived by her nine children, their spouses, and eleven grandchildren who learnt to fillet a fish before they could read.
“A fish sold on credit is a friend you will meet again.”
Saturday, 21 November 2026 at 07:00 UTC
Add to calendarComing together to honour Rose and support the family.
Handling the mortuary bill, transport to Kendu Bay and the home burial.
Daily at Kobama, Kendu Bay, 5.00 pm; Kisumu delegates meet Thursdays at Kibuye
Contact: Dennis Ochieng Odhiambo
$76 raised of $3,100.78
Traders contributing cash and fish for the funeral meals.
Kibuye Market office, Mondays and Thursdays, 4.00 pm
Contact: Jane Adhiambo Okoth
$71.25 raised of $1,550.39
Group members pooling welfare funds and cooking for mourners.
Every Friday after the sitting, Nyalenda Social Hall, 2.00 pm
Contact: Pamela Anyango Owino
$90.25 raised of $930.23
Organising the Requiem Mass, choir and prayer rosary evenings.
Parish office, Wednesdays 5.00 pm
Contact: Fr. Anthony Ouma
$28.50 raised of $620.16
Sign in to start a committee or join one to support the family.
Memorial fund
Support the family with mortuary, transport and burial costs, and the school fees of her youngest grandchildren.
$266 raised of $3,200
8%10 recent contributions
Anonymous gave $23.75 · 3h ago
Mary Wanjala gave $28.50 · 10h ago
Hellen Awino gave $14.25 · 23h ago
Daniel Mutua gave $47.50 · 3d ago
“Pole sana kwa familia.”
Jennifer Mwende gave $28.50 · 5d ago
Primary and early secondary education
Kendu Bay Primary and Nyanza Girls' Day School1969 – 1978 · Homa Bay County
Left school after Form Two but insisted every child of hers would finish.
Married Zablon Odhiambo
1983 – 2009 · Kendu Bay
A marriage of twenty-six years.
Fish trader
Kibuye Market1988 – 2026 · Kisumu
Bought at Dunga beach at dawn and sold at Kibuye until she was too tired to count.
Treasurer
Dala Women Savings Group1999 – 2026 · Kisumu
Managed the group's savings for twenty-seven years without a single loss.
Built the family home at Kobama
2008 · Kendu Bay
Finished the house with fish money, one bag of cement at a time.
Women's guild member
St. Peter's Catholic Church, Kendu Bay1984 – 2026 · Kendu Bay
Cooked for every parish harambee and funeral.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Rose is survived by
6 people have shared a memory of Rose.
Knew Rose? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tributeNeighbour, Kobama
She built that house one bag of cement at a time and invited the whole village to the roof party. Her laughter could be heard at the lake. Rest, mama.
Nephew in Melbourne
Aunty Rose paid for my KCSE exam fees and sent dried fish in a suitcase every time anyone flew out. I still taste lake water when I open the last packet she sent.
Parish priest, St. Peter's Kendu Bay
She cooked for every funeral at our parish and never once asked who was paying. The mass of her life is the meals she served. May the Lord seat her at his table.
Head chef, Kisumu hotel
I bought fish from Mama Akinyi for nineteen years. She would sniff a tilapia and say, not today, come tomorrow. She was never wrong. Every plate I served with her fish carried her name.
Chairlady, Dala Women Savings Group
Twenty-seven years as treasurer and the red book was always right to the last ten shillings. She taught us that honesty is a kind of wealth you can bank every Friday.
Fellow trader, Kibuye Market
Our stalls stood side by side for thirty years. When my husband died she sold my fish for a month so my children would not miss school. She never told anyone. Kibuye has lost its mother.
