By REUBEN OLITA
June 12, 2026|The dusty pathways of Acunet Village in Teso North erupted into a carnival of colour and celebration this week, as residents poured onto the streets to witness a moment of pure, unbridled grace.
The object of their affection? Joseph Isogol (pictured), a renowned gospel artiste living with a disability, who became the proud recipient of a brand-new Toyota Probox, a generous donation from Farouk Kibet, the Personal Assistant to President William Ruto.
For Isogol, the moment the keys touched his palm, reality felt like a dream. Standing beside his gleaming new asset, the musician’s voice trembled with emotion as he recounted a journey of profound struggle.
“I thought I was dreaming,” Isogol confessed, fighting back tears. “God has remembered me despite my poverty and disability. Just a few years ago, during President Ruto’s tour of this area, he gave me Ksh3,000. That small amount enabled me to buy my first mattress. Today, I have received a vehicle.”
The handover quickly transcended a simple donation, becoming a testament to the power of community support.
Isogol took a moment to acknowledge the village leaders who held him up before this windfall, specifically thanking Teso North MP Oku Kaunya for sponsoring his first-born daughter at St. Thomas Amagoro Girls High School, and parliamentary aspirant Charles Chesseto for a previous Ksh100,000 gift.
Speaking at the vibrant ceremony, MP Oku Kaunya hailed Farouk Kibet’s gesture as a mirror reflecting the heart of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“God used Farouk Kibet to reward Isogol,” Kaunya stated. “This donation is a blessing to the vulnerable and a clear sign that President Ruto’s government cares about ordinary wananchi.”
However, Kaunya urged Isogol to turn the gift into a livelihood, advising him to invest in a music studio and use the vehicle as a taxi to generate income.
To get the engine running, the MP donated Ksh20,000 for fuel—a sentiment echoed by aspirant Charles Chesseto, who added another Ksh20,000 for the same cause.
The chorus of praise was bipartisan. Deputy Speaker Ronald Ochalu noted that talent remains a great equalizer, pledging his political support for President Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid while celebrating the artiste’s rise.
UDA Busia County Chairman Maurice Chetambe pointed to the donation as part of a larger pattern of development in Teso, citing ongoing road works on the Busia-Malaba-Kakemer highway, modern markets in Amagoro, and affordable housing projects.
Yet, amidst the joy, a debate over cultural legacy emerged. Chesseto called for the proposed residence of the Iteso cultural leader, Emormor Paul Sande Emolot, to be established at Kakapel instead of Ikapolok Farm, adding a layer of political discourse to the afternoon’s celebrations.
For Teso South MP Mary Emaase, the Probox is a physical manifestation of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). She offered a poignant plea to parents raising children with disabilities: “Disability is not inability. Society should not hide these children. They must go to school and be given opportunities to excel.”
Emaase advised Isogol to put the vehicle under the management of a trusted driver to ensure sustainable income for his family.
Turning to the nation’s youth, she addressed the recent wave of school unrest and arson, attributing the moral decay to a decline in parental involvement.
On development, she noted that the government’s Ksh4.8 trillion budget has set aside Ksh702 billion for education and Ksh7 billion for intern support programs, adding that the Teso region stands to benefit from water projects like the Angololo Multipurpose Dam.
In a final gesture of solidarity, Emaase pledged to cater for the vehicle’s first service.
Earlier in the day, Chesseto and the G7 team paid a courtesy call on Teso North Deputy County Commissioner Solomon Kitai, in a meeting attended by the area MP and Emaase.
The delegation from Farouk Kibet was led by aides Stephen Kimaiyo and Charles Sawe, while Bishop John Etyang of Christ Our Salvation Ministries led the crowd in prayers of thanksgiving.
As the sun set over Acunet Village, hundreds of residents lingered, cheering the man who once slept on the floor. But for those watching Kenyan politics closely, the scene felt familiar.
Farouk Kibet, a strategist whose political formation traces back to the Kanu era, has long mastered the art of the Harambee populist spectacle—the dramatic, camera-ready gift that lands hard in the local news cycle.
Here, the Probox was never just a Probox. It was a cleverly calibrated transaction: a vehicle for a vulnerable artiste, yes, but also a vehicle for political goodwill, a mobile billboard of generosity parked squarely in voter memory ahead of 2027. The tears were real. So was the calculus.