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My second year as a farmer

Today I harvested some vegetables for a friend As the farm greens to near black and the harvest is only a month or two away, I forget that it was all tiresome to do this. The digging, weeding, fear for destructive rain or sun – and moles. Moles ate up lots of my cassava. You will be seeing the stems look tall and promising – a lie. Some wind will blow and it will be down. Only a root supplying water. Beneath there is nothing. The little devil is somewhere else, eating up sweet potatoes tubers. I can now trap them. Though for what? Had they had an economical benefit the better. But to wait and see a sinking maize stalk, bean plant, kale or pawpaw stem – everything you plant the mole wants to partake. Were they disciplined I would have saved some farm produce. But it eats little sugarcane offshoots! Does not care about tomorrow. With more you can give out. I have mom who always asks what is there. She comes and harvests sweet potatoes, uproots mito and mutele, plucks zimboga and li
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A history of Mbale

The present MBALE town in Maragoli, Vihiga County (It used be a District), is locally known to its residents as "WA-MBALE". It is a name derived from an ancestor – who was the Great Great Grandfather called "AMBALE" of the Abasaniaga (Kamnara) Clan.

Ambale's parcel of land which stretched from "IDAVAGA" where he lived and died, extended beyond the present MBALE Market Place in Maragoli. History has it that Ambale was a shrewd cattle trader. Both buyers and sellers always converged at a famous spot in Ambale's land under a tree shade or some trees known as "MU-MIZAMBARAU" – 'Mzambarau' is a Swahili name of  plum tree.  The "Mzambarau spot" brought together traders from as far as Bunyore, Luanda, Idakho, Isukha, Serem (Banja), Kisa, and Kisumu for Saturday market livestock trading. Saturday is still the main market day  in Mbale.

When the Colonial Government built the Kisumu - Kakamega Road, Ambale's land was affected and divided - hiking away the market spot from his parcel of land to which he would never be compensated. The present Muslim Mosque was built and stands in the very place and a few of these trees can be seen to this day.

Ambale's sons were - Gamsha, Engome, Luvita and the youngest – Ganihitsu. Ganihitsu and wife Diana Nyagi bore Agesa (alias Harambee), Asava (alias Kilanduka) and Lusigi. They were great people. Agesa bore Inziano, father to Neccy Munagi, the contributor of this article. Understandably from Ganihitsu's daughter Resba Mengesa Lwimbu (who was 90yrs old while narrating this story), even the land extending to Muslim Primary School and the entire village, belonged to this great, great, grandfather.

Ambale was so kindly generous that he went against tradition by giving away land to his sister called Maria Ilunda who had been married at 'Evogonda'.  The circumstance to the act wasn't included by the writer.

According to Abalogoli culture, women were not allowed to inherit land and property. With increased in- laws following, that is how land was lost on the Evogonda / Idavaga side. The great great grandsons of Mbale have been forced to buy land for settling in an area that once belonged to their ancestor.

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