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‘I met Roselyn Akombe in New York’ – Kisii Senator Onyonka opens up
25th May, 2026 01:23 PM
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has given listeners a rare peek into his personal life, recounting how a chance friendship in the United States quietly grew into one of his marriages.
“I met Rose (Roselyn Akombe) when I was working in New York, and we just became friends and continued discussing things and everything,” the senator said on Monday, May 25, 2026, during an interview with a local radio station.
“When she came to work in Nairobi, she got the job on her own merit. Did I play a role? I don’t think so, because she knew everybody. She’s a very clever lady. And one thing led to another, and here we are. We have lovely children, and life moved on.”
The interview came weeks after Onyonka made a very public revelation about his family.
During a memorial gathering for his late mother, Mama Teresia Nyaboke Omoke, the senator stunned guests by confirming that Akombe is his wife, telling the crowd: “What I know is that many of you don’t know that Roselyn Akombe is my wife.”
He also revealed she had played a quiet but significant role in the family. Onyonka disclosed that Akombe had been actively involved in overseeing his mother’s care, including facilitating medical trips to the United States for specialised treatment.
A family of 12
The senator describes himself as a proud polygamist and confirmed he has more than three wives and is the father of 12 children.
In a separate interview, he revealed that Akombe, who splits her time between New York and Kenya, lives in Kitale when she is in the country, and said the two have been together for about 15 years.
Who is Roselyn Akombe?
Roselyn Kwamboka Akombe was born in Nyamira County on November 21, 1976, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi, where she studied education.
She later built a distinguished career as a political economist and United Nations expert.
In 2017, Akombe served as a commissioner of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
During preparations for the repeat presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court, she resigned on October 17, 2017, while in New York, stating that the commission could not guarantee a credible election and citing safety concerns.
The revelation of her marriage to Onyonka (a relationship that had stayed firmly out of the public eye for well over a decade) quickly became one of the biggest talking points in Kenya’s entertainment and political circles this month.
For many Kenyans, the New York origin story is the detail that makes it all the more intriguing.
