Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has publicly disclosed that she has lived with and battled cancer for the past 12 years, making the revelation during the commissioning of a new oncology centre in the county. Wanga made the disclosure on August 27, 2026, while commissioning the Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre at Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital. The facility is intended to expand access to cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment for residents of Homa Bay and neighbouring areas. The governor linked her personal experience to the need for cancer services to be available closer to patients. She said residents should not have to travel long distances to access specialised care, particularly when treatment requires repeated hospital visits.
The new centre is expected to strengthen the county’s capacity to provide cancer-related services, including screening, diagnostic procedures, specialist consultations and treatment. Chemotherapy services have been introduced, while plans are in place to expand the facility’s treatment capacity, including radiotherapy. The centre is located within the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital and was developed through a partnership between the county government and the Aga Khan Hospital Kisumu, among other partners involved in expanding cancer care in the region.
Wanga’s disclosure provided a personal context to her remarks on the importance of decentralising cancer services. The governor said she had been dealing with the disease for 12 years. Her account brought attention to the practical challenges associated with cancer care, including the need for timely diagnosis, regular treatment and access to specialised medical personnel. Her disclosure also came as the county launched a facility intended to reduce the distance patients have to travel for cancer-related services.
For residents who previously had to seek specialised treatment outside the county, the expansion of local services could reduce transport and accommodation costs associated with repeated referrals. The county has said the centre will support a wider cancer-care pathway, from community screening and sample collection to diagnosis, specialist consultations and treatment.
The establishment of the oncology centre represents an expansion of specialised healthcare within Homa Bay County, where cancer patients have historically depended on facilities in larger urban centres for some services. The partnership with Aga Khan Hospital Kisumu is intended to strengthen local expertise and improve the availability of cancer services within the county. The approach also seeks to make cancer care more accessible to patients in the wider Lake Victoria region. Wanga’s announcement therefore coincided with a concrete healthcare development rather than being solely a personal disclosure. The county is seeking to increase the range of services available locally while reducing the need for patients to travel outside Homa Bay for treatment.
The Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre is named after the late Kenyan politician and women’s rights advocate Phoebe Asiyo, who represented Karachuonyo in Parliament and was a prominent advocate for women’s participation in public life. For Homa Bay residents, the immediate significance of the facility is the availability of additional cancer services within the county. For Wanga, the commissioning also marked the first time she publicly detailed her 12-year experience with cancer. The governor remains in office and has linked her experience with the disease to the broader effort to improve access to specialised healthcare in Homa Bay.