Deliverance Church Antioch City

03/06/2026

Henry Rono: Legendary Kenyan Athlete Who Took To The Tracks While Drunk But Still Won - And How Alcohol Destroyed His Career

“I used to run half-drunk and half-awake."

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Rono was born in Kiptaragon, Nandi county and was largely brought up by a single mother. Surprisingly, he was unable to walk until he was 6 after a gruesome injury on his right leg.

The father was a tractor operator working for a white settler and lost his life when he leaped off the tractor after he saw a snake on the farm. He got crushed by the rotating three disc plough.

However, all was not lost for Rono as his mother took up the role of ensuring he got educated. In his early 20’s, Rono was working for the Kenya Army and went on to settle in the USA as a student at Washington State University in the mid 70’s.

Setting 4 World Records in 81 Days

As an athlete, Rono was simply unbeatable on the tracks. In 1978, he broke four world records in a span of only 81 days in 10000m, 5000m, 3000m steeplechase and 3000m flat. It was his heyday and Kenyan fans worshiped the ground upon which he walked.

Battling Alcoholism

Unknown to many, at one time Rono took to the tracks after a night of drinking but still managed to emerge victorious. As quoted by Washington Post in 1989, Rono says: “I used to run half-drunk and half-awake.” The matter drowned him deeper into an alcoholic problem driven by the delusion that he was still unmatched.

“It was my nature that I could train to a certain level that nobody else could get, so for me breaking the world record was not a problem."

Sadly, Rono’s glory days were shortlived as he went from chasing the clock to chasing the bottle. By 1982, the athlete went from taking beers to hard liquor and his performance declined as he began adding weight.

Rehabilitation and drinking problems

In the mid 80’s alcoholism had taken control of the athlete’s life. However, it was not his wish to be taken to a rehabilitation center. According to him, the matter led to his infamous arrest on false allegations of robbing a bank as his then agent conspired to have him taken to a rehabilitation center.

“The agent gave me my money and then I went to the bank. They accused me that I had robbed the bank. That was the only way they could force me to a rehab,” he recalls.

Rono’s life took a twist as he spent his time in numerous rehabilitation centers. The loud applause he received was long gone leaving him stripped bare of the infamous majestic flamboyance. The athlete found himself doing menial jobs such as cargo loading and washing cars.

Appeal To Get Home

Henry Rono’s battle with alcoholism paid off as he finally left the rehabilitation center in 2015. According to legendary athlete Kipchoge Keino, Rono did not spare part of his great windfall for a rainy day. In 2019, 66 year old Henry Rono was featured on the Daily Nation, pleading with the government to help him relocate to Kenya as his predicament led to outpouring of emotions on the blogosphere.Finally he silently returned home in 21st November, 2019.

Death

He died aged 72 years in 2024 after short illnesses.

03/06/2026

There will always be storms, betrayal, rejection, misunderstanding, and disappointment. But those who are unstoppable do not run from the storm. They stand in it. They anchor their feet. They lift their eyes to Heaven and declare, "Though none go with me, still I will follow."

And when you anchor your heart in God, not in people, not in applause, not in convenience, then no storm will ever be able to stop your purpose.

Remain. Fulfil your calling. Keep walking. Keep trusting. Because God, not man, called you. And He who calls is faithful.

23/04/2026

Hezekiah Nelson Oyugi (1942–1992), often called the most powerful Luo administrator in Kenya’s post-independence history, rose from humble rural beginnings to become one of the most feared and influential figures in President Daniel arap Moi’s regime. Born in South Kamagambo, Rongo area of what is now Migori County,Oyugi hailed from a modest Luo family. He attended Ranen Primary School, then crossed into Uganda for secondary education at Jinja High School. Back in Kenya, he trained at Kabianga Teachers Training College and quickly became principal of Migori Secondary School while still young.His shift from education to public administration began in the early 1970s. After serving as an assistant education officer and district education officer in Homa Bay, he was appointed District Officer in 1972. Between 1973 and 1976, he served as District Commissioner in various postings, including Kisumu, Nakuru, West Pokot, and Turkana. He later rose to Provincial Commissioner, gaining a reputation for efficiency and unyielding loyalty to the system. Oyugi was known for his sharp intellect and administrative acumen, but also for his ability to navigate the complex ethnic and political dynamics of the single-party state.
Fate accelerated his ascent on August 1, 1982, during the failed Kenya Air Force coup attempt. While many officials wavered, Oyugi—then Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner—stood firmly with Moi at Kabarak, reportedly declaring, “I will die for you, Mzee.” This display of loyalty earned him Moi’s deep trust. In December 1986, Moi appointed him Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, responsible for Provincial Administration and Internal Security. Oyugi operated from State House itself, an unusual privilege that underscored his proximity to ultimate power.
At the height of his influence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Oyugi was effectively the third most powerful man in Kenya after Moi and powerful minister Nicholas Biwott. He controlled a vast security apparatus, including a network of Special District Officers (SDOs)—loyal young intelligence operatives deployed across the country with vehicles and unchecked authority to monitor, intimidate, and neutralize perceived critics of the Nyayo regime. Provincial Commissioners and even senior police officers reportedly stood at attention and saluted when Oyugi called from Nairobi. His word could make or break political careers, particularly in Nyanza, where he helped shape Luo leadership to align with Moi. Critics accused his machinery of enabling repression, including operations linked to Nyayo House detention and torture chambers.
Oyugi’s tenure coincided with a turbulent period: multiparty agitation, economic strains, and internal rivalries. He was instrumental in managing provincial administration during the 1988 queue-voting elections, often cited as heavily rigged. His home area of Rongo reportedly boomed with development under his influence, earning him local nicknames like “The Governor” or “Kalam Maduong” (Big Pen), a nod to his sweeping authority.
Yet power proved precarious. In February 1990, Foreign Minister Dr. Robert Ouko was brutally murdered. A British detective leading the inquiry, John Troon, later named Oyugi and Biwott as principal suspects. Oyugi was arrested and detained briefly but released for lack of evidence. The case cast a long shadow over his career. In October 1991, Moi abruptly dismissed him. Oyugi was detained again at GSU headquarters for about two weeks before release. Upon returning home, he appeared disoriented and suffered from severe neuromotor complications.
On August 8, 1992, Oyugi died at age 50 under mysterious circumstances. Official accounts cited illness, but his family has long maintained he was poisoned—possibly during detention—with symptoms resembling those later seen in other political detainees. No state funeral was held, and top government officials were notably absent from his burial in Kanyajuok village. His death marked a dramatic fall from the pinnacle of power.
Oyugi left behind a complex legacy. To supporters, he was a dedicated public servant who transformed his rural constituency and demonstrated unwavering loyalty in a volatile era. To detractors, he embodied the authoritarian excesses of one-party rule, wielding intelligence networks that stifled dissent. Rumors persisted of vast wealth, including private vaults in family homes, though much of it allegedly dissipated after his passing amid family disputes and legal battles over properties.
The story of Hezekiah Oyugi reads like a cautionary tale of Kenyan politics: meteoric rise through loyalty and competence, immense unchecked power, entanglement in unresolved scandals, and a sudden, enigmatic end. In the Moi era’s inner circle, he exemplified how a civil servant could eclipse elected officials in influence—only for that influence to vanish almost overnight. His life remains a lens into the mechanics of power, fear, and fragility in late 20th-century Kenya.

Hezekiah Nelson Oyugi with one of his trademark Benz model w124 registered number kxn546.

22/04/2026

22/04/2026

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