Nelson Nanga Esikuri

Nelson Nanga Esikuri (1922 May 26 2008) was a respected doctor, village elder and farmer in North Bunyore location in Western Province of Kenya.

Professional and Personal Life

Mzee Nelson Nanga Esikuri was born in 1922 at Eb'bayi Esiambale village, Eb'bayi sublocation, East Bunyore location. After his primary education at the local school, he joined Maseno Junior School in 1940 and, in 1941, was admitted to Maseno School. In 1943 he joined the East Africa Army Medical Corps, where he trained as a nurse. When he was discharged from the army in 1946, he got a job as a nurse at Kisumu District Hospital. He went on to become a general physician at the Nyanza General Hospital in Kisumu. He resigned from this job in 1958 to go home "and help my wife run the home and see my children grow." Though he never set up a formal clinic where he could put his nursing knowledge to use, he has since his resignation been involved in "the health of the people in my village."

Operating from his house in the village, Nelson's clients had always been teachers, farmers, local administrators, and urban dwellers who pay visits to the village during holidays. Since 1958 his popularity has "spread far and wide in the village because of my proximity, accessibility, and knowledge of the village and the health needs of the people. My patients come to me or I go to them when asked to." Though he approved of the efficacy of herbal medicine, he rarely referred his patients to herbal experts.

Nelson's activities as a daktari (doctor) were well respected as a profession, but he was also a pioneering farmer (introduced tea growing in the area) and much respected village elder who was consulted on all sorts of issues that range from settling of disputed in the village and dowry negotiations in a villager's daughter's or son's marriage.

Mzee Nelson Nanga Esikuri passed away on May 26, 2008 in Nairobi Hospital following complications with stomach cancer. He was laid to rest at his home in Ebubayi Esiambale village, East Bunyore, Kenya.

References

• ^ Based on Osaak A. Olumwullah, "Dis-ease in the Colonial State: Medicine, Society, and Social Change Among the AbaNyole of Western Kenya"
• ^ Notable Luhya personalities
• ^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Campaign_(World_War_II), East African Campaign]