Introduction
Lake Victoria Field is situated in south western part of Kenya along the shores of Lake Victoria, hence the name. The territory consists of parts of Migori County and parts of Homa-Bay County and it has a population of about 963, 757.
Lake Victoria Field is situated in south western part of Kenya along the shores of Lake Victoria, hence the name. The territory consists of parts of Migori County and parts of Homa-Bay County and it has a population of about 963, 757.
This region was inhabited by the Luo and Abasuba of the Southern Nyanza. According to Nixon Aswani (2018), the Luo form part of the 42 tribes in Kenya and they are the third largest ethnic group with 13% in the Republic of Kenya. The Suba (Abasuba) are Bantu group of people in Kenya who speak the Suba language.
Their population is estimated at about 300,000, with substantial fluent speakers. They migrated to Kenya from Uganda and settled on the two Lake Victoria islands of Rusinga and Mfangano, others also settled on the mainland areas including Gembe, Gwassi, Kaksingri of Suba South and Migori and are believed to be the last tribe to have settled in Kenya. This region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with daily temperatures ranging between 26°C during the coldest months (April and November) and 34°C during the hottest months (January to March). It receives between 250mm and 1200mm of rainfall annually, with the average annual rainfall estimated at 1,100mm. It has two rainy seasons; March-April-May (long rains) and September to November (short rains). Because of proximity to Lake Victoria, the Luo and Abasuba are primarily fishermen and small-scale farmers growing maize, sugar cane, millet, potatoes and vegetables.
Historical Background
Between 1903 and 1905, the General conference of Seventh–day Adventist session under the presidency of G. A. Daniells met and decided to send some missionaries to East Africa. According to Mbwana (2014), the first Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to work in Kenya were Arthur Carscallen, his wife and Malawi native Peter Nyambo who left England and arrived in East Africa-Kenya on October 1, 1906. Mbwana adds that by November 27, 1906, this team reached Gendia Hill which is in the eastern shore of Lake Victoria-Kendu Bay.
Kenya Lake Field (KLC) was first organized in 1906, and as the work progressed it was reorganized in 1953, 1961, 1990, 2010 and in 2017 to give part of its territory to the Lake Victoria Field. Ranen Conference (RC) was organized in 1918, reorganized in 1961, elevated to a conference status in 2010 and 2017 to give part of its territory to the Lake Victoria Field. Currently Lake Victoria Field has a Total Membership of 73,993 with 616 churches and 148 Companies.
Membership growth and territorial realignment
The church has consistently grown from 1906 when it was first planted at Gendia Hill. With this growth (See table below) the two conferences Ranen and Kenya Lake took an action to form a survey team of five to assess the possibility of subdivision and to report its their findings by January 31, 2015. The members were Pr. Dr. Tom Ogal, Pr. Nicodemus Onyango, Pr. Mark Ng'ong'a, Eld. George Diang'a and Elder Peter Ogweno Manyala. Table 1 illustrates the membership growth from both RC and KLC.
| NO/ENTITY | YEAR-1990 | YEAR-2000 | YEAR-2010 | YEAR-2017 |
| 1. RC | 57,838 | 91,166 | 97,811 | 130,509 |
| 2. KLC | 64,372 | 91,041 | 71,900 | 95,509 |
Table 1. Membership Growth in RC and KLC between 1990-2017 (SDA YEAR BOOK)
Ranen Conference took an action through Min RC/2433 to accept the report of a survey commission of 9 members to divide Ranen into two. The Commissioners were Pr. Samson Keraka (Chair), Pr. Edward Onduru, Pr. Samson Okwach, Pr. Benard Okoth, Pr. Peter Nyakanga, Pr. Samuel Mosoba, Mr. Peter Ogwari, Mrs. Prisca Onyango and Mr. Ishmael Otieno.
Both the Kenya Lake and Ranen Conferences accepted to realign their territories to provide for the creation of the proposed Lake Victoria Field and further to forward the same to East and Central Africa Division (ECD) through West Kenya Union Conference (WKUC) for consideration. A joint letter to the WKUC dated January 5, 2015 was then done signed by Pr. Dr. Tom Ogal and Pr. Samson Keraka (then KLC & RC Executive Secretaries respectively). This meeting (WHICH MEETING?) gave birth to the first office of promoters namely; Pr. Samson Okwach, Pr. Wilson Wandago, Pr. John Odiango and Pr. Duncan Wao.
The WKUC Executive committee meeting on May 21, 2015 took up an action to evaluate RC and KLC for their readiness to be realigned. A commission of five Pr. George Okeyo (chair), Pr. Christopher Misoi, Gilbert Obare, Rebecca Ruto and Pr. Lucas Olwayo recommended a one-year period for the ironing out of the few challenges that were noted. It also recommended for a substantive promotional office. This action saw Pr. Samson Okwach, Pr. Wilson Wandago, Elder Johnson Ochieng’, Sori pastors' representative-Joseph Ojunju, Homabay pastors' representative-Pr. Joseph Kingi and Mbita Pastors’ representative Pr. Daniel Sidho appointed into the promotional office.
The second commission was sent a year later, headed by Pr. John Tuwei, Pr. Nelson Olum, Pr. Christopher Misoi, Pr. Boaz Ouma and Elder Gideon Angura.
Upon receiving the WKUC application to organize a field called Lake Victoria from existing RC and KLC, the East Central Africa Division (ECD) took an action on May 3, 2017 to accept it. A team of three commissioners lead by Pr. William Bagambe, Pr. Samuel Makori and Elder Michael Caballero was sent for evaluation between September 10th and 12th. This report was accepted by the ECD Executive Committee during in their End Year meeting on October 28, 2017.
On November 9, 2017 at the West Kenya Union Conference End Year meeting, Lake Victoria Field had its officers elected. These were Pr. Samson Okwach Mrongo (President), Pr. Wilson Wandago (Executive Secretary), and Elder Johnson Ochieng' (Treasurer). Later, a special constituency meeting was held at Homa Bay Central SDA Church on December 7, 2017 to transact the remaining business.
