Kisii Senator Onyonka Reveals Huge Number of Children He Has With Different Women Including IEBC Commissioner

When Senator Richard Onyonka of Kisii County stood before mourners gathered at his home to grieve the passing of his mother, nobody expected political fireworks. Funerals are supposed to be about reflection, loss, and family unity. But Onyonka  true to his larger-than-life reputation delivered something nobody saw coming: a candid, unapologetic disclosure that he has fathered 12 children with different women.

And if that wasn't enough to get tongues wagging from Kisii to Karen  one of those women, he confirmed, is Roselyn Akombe, the former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioner who became a household name in Kenya after she controversially resigned just days before the 2017 repeat presidential election and fled to the United States, citing threats to her life and a compromised process.

The confession spread faster than any political manifesto Onyonka has ever put out. Within hours, it was the talk of Twitter, Facebook, and every WhatsApp group that pretends to be about "business networking" but is really about gossip.

The Man Behind the Headline

Richard Onyonka is not a man who hides from attention. A seasoned politician who has navigated Kenyan politics for decades, he is known for his sharp tongue, his boldness in Parliament, and his willingness to say what others only whisper. So in a strange way, making this kind of declaration in public  even at a funeral  is entirely on-brand for him.

He comes from a well-established family with resources and political capital that most Kenyans can only dream of. This context matters, because it shapes how the confession lands and how differently it would land if it came from an ordinary Kenyan man.

The Roselyn Akombe Angle

Of all the names attached to this story, Akombe's is the one generating the most electricity. She was one of the most prominent faces of Kenya's electoral management at a deeply turbulent time. Her resignation letter was scathing, her departure dramatic, and her subsequent life in America  working with international organizations has kept her in the public consciousness.

The revelation that she shares a child with a sitting Kenyan senator is the kind of detail that blurs the line between personal life and public accountability. Neither Onyonka nor Akombe have issued formal statements since the disclosure went viral, and it remains to be seen how either will address it going forward.

"Kumbe Onyonka Sio Hivi Hivi"  What Kenyans Are Really Saying

The Swahili phrase making rounds  "kumbe Onyonka sio hivi hivi" roughly translates to "turns out Onyonka is not just any ordinary man." It's said with a mixture of shock, amusement, and a certain resigned admiration that Kenyans reserve for powerful men who live life on their own terms.

And here's where the conversation gets real.

Because Onyonka can afford 12 children. He has the wealth, the networks, and presumably the arrangements  formal or otherwise  to ensure those children are fed, educated, and provided for. For him, this is not a financial or social catastrophe. It is an announcement.

The Uncomfortable Lesson: This Is NOT For Everyone

This is where ordinary Kenyans need to pump the brakes before they start taking notes.

There is a dangerous tendency especially among young men to look at a wealthy, powerful figure living an extravagant lifestyle and think: "If he can do it, so can I." But the math doesn't work that way. Not even close.

Onyonka has generational wealth, political influence, and likely multiple streams of income that cushion whatever personal choices he makes. The average mwananchi especially a young man in his 20s or early 30s  does not have that buffer.

The social media landscape is already littered with the consequences of men who fathered multiple children across different women without the means to support them. The result? Children growing up without fathers. Mothers left to carry impossible burdens alone. And yes  the endless stream of posts from frustrated women calling out deadbeat dads, which some men dismissively call "gojias girls venting online."

But here's the hard truth: those posts exist because the problem is real. Women are not venting into a void  they are describing lived experiences of men who replicated the lifestyle of the powerful without the resources to back it up.

The Broader Conversation Kenya Needs to Have

Beyond the gossip and the memes, Onyonka's confession opens a window into conversations Kenyan society tends to avoid:

1. Wealth changes the rules and that's deeply unfair.

A rich man fathering many children with different women is called a "legend." A poor man doing the same is called irresponsible. The behavior is identical; only the bank account differs. That double standard deserves honest examination.

2. Children are not accessories.

Whether you are a senator or a boda boda rider, every child born deserves more than financial provision. They need presence, emotional investment, and a father who shows up l not just one who deposits money. Onyonka's children may never lack materially, but the emotional landscape of growing up across a scattered, complex family structure is a separate question entirely.

3. Women in these situations deserve dignity.

The women who have had children with Onyonka Akombe included are not footnotes. They are people who made choices, sometimes with full information, sometimes without, and who are now navigating motherhood within a complicated arrangement. Their stories matter.

4. Public figures normalize behaviors  whether they intend to or not.

When a senator announces he has 12 children with different women at a public gathering, and the crowd responds with laughter and admiration rather than scrutiny, a message is sent. That message filters down through culture and shapes what young people think is acceptable, aspirational, or inevitable.

Final Word

Richard Onyonka's confession will be forgotten by most people within a week, replaced by the next scandal, the next political drama, the next viral moment. That is the nature of the news cycle.

But the questions it raises don't go away that quickly.

Kenya is a country where many children grow up without fathers. Where single mothers carry outsized burdens. Where wealth protects some men from consequences that crush others. And where conversations about masculinity, responsibility, and family remain unfinished.

Onyonka's 12 children story is entertaining. It is also a mirror.

What Kenya chooses to see in that mirror  and what it decides to do about it  is the more important story.

https://www.maatribune.co.ke/2026/05/kisii-senator-onyonka-reveals-huge.html