Gladys Wanga opens up about battling cancer for 12 years

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga on Thursday, 28 August 2026, openly shared that she has been battling cancer for the past 12 years.

Standing before a crowd at the outdoor event, Wanga spoke with a calm, resolute tone despite the weight of what she was revealing.

She described a moment when her family members were walking through hospital corridors in tears while she herself remained composed, drawing strength from words of wisdom shared by Senator Beth Mugo.

“It is your mind that is going to kill you. It is not the answer,” Wanga recalled being told, words she said she has carried with her ever since.

The governor recalled being a newly elected Member of Parliament at the time of her diagnosis, and said she chose thanksgiving over despair.

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Rather than dwell on the fear of what might happen, she focused on the access to treatment her position had afforded her and expressed gratitude that she could receive proper medical care.

“All I did always was just to thank God. And in thanksgiving, 12 years later, I am here. I am not going anywhere,” she said, her voice steady and resolute.  

Wanga announced ambitious plans to ensure that Homa Bay residents no longer have to travel elsewhere for cancer care.

She confirmed that chemotherapy services would be among the first to be introduced, with radiotherapy to follow, and pledged that every necessary diagnostic and treatment facility would eventually be available locally.

“It is people who are going to come here to get treated. It is not us,” she declared, drawing an emotional parallel between her own journey and the future she envisions for patients in her county.

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