One wise man is quoted saying that there are but two
certainties in life, Death and Taxes. Recent events have brought this unerring
reality to perspective. His train of thought may not have strayed too far off
from the actual trajectory of matters. Famous Anglo-Irish academic and essayist
Percival Arland Ussher added, “A man does not die of love, his liver or old
age; but only because he is a man.” Any
creature with life will ultimately lose it. But the question is, when? From the
dawn of time many species including humans have appeared on the grand stage
called the earth, done their dance and some without any warning departed that
same stage leaving many a mortified and sorrowful bereaved nay inconsolable. Even
the dinosaurs suave in powerful elegance could not have foretold of their own
Armageddon on that fateful day 65 Million years ago. A meteor that had hurtled
through space for eon inexplicably headed the earth’s direction, got trapped in
our gravitational field and burnt as a brilliant ball of fire through the
atmosphere eventually splashing into the bay off the Yucatan Peninsula as a
megaton bomb. The pristine occupants of the earth were gradually wiped out by
the effects of this catastrophe. Some of the passing-ons with the most profound
impact are of the people we hold dear. Relatives, kinsmen, close allies,
fervently close individuals to us. Perhaps, the most profound blow is dealt
when a mentor, sport or music icon or even your favourite politician passes
on. Here in Kenya, we have had
innumerable instances of people we greatly adore ‘taking the final bow’ in the
year 2017. I will not attempt to quantify the tremulous quakes that this
incidences have had on our individual personas but only a man knows where a
shoe pinches him. What I know is that the cruel throes of death leave an
immutable chasm of unquantifiable magnitude. Consolation comes; scant as it may
be, in the realization that we are all flesh and we all will in due course
perish. But the key thing is to take critical lessons from the lives of our
heroes so that when they inevitably become the deceased, will be left richer by
our consort with them. I will attempt to pay ever so gently; mild tributes to a
few eminent individuals to have sempiternally departed from earthly grace but
whose memories may linger with many of in perpetuity.
Chieck Tiote was a famous football icon. He was an Ivory
Coast football lynchpin, an enforcer at the centre of the park, a defensive
midfielder of no mean repute. That nation has rapidly developed to a football
powerhouse with names like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure who have taken the
diadem of African footballer of the year multiple times. Playing a team sport,
the aforementioned is in the same breath as these two; in no denigration, an
integral part of their national team success. Though not so decorated in his
club career, he lifted the 2015 AFCON with the national side. He featured in
two World Cups. Many of us caught not just a passing glimpse of him, but peered
at his movements, week-in-week-out in the English Premier league. Here he
played for Newcastle football club. Needless to say, at the time of his passing
he had become a household name. Many an Arsenal football club fan has been
stirred up in cold sweats remembering the nightmare that was their match with
Newcastle on 5th February 2011. Leading 4-0 at half-time and on course
to a budgeoning victory, Arsenal surely took the foot off the pedal in the
second –half. In what can only be termed an insipidly calamitous collapse
Arsenal blew that lead setting up a grand stand finish. Exhilaration for the
Newcastle fans and many neutrals was sealed late in the match by none other
than the iconic central midfielder. With the Match poised at 4-3 in favour of
Arsenal FC in the dying embers of that encounter, a thunderbolt hit that
ground. A resounding smash from 25 yards out and the resulting celebrations
almost awakened apparitions of the heroes of yore at the St. James’ Park. Tying
that game, not many were the days he endeared himself to the club faithful as
on that day. But it was not all peaches and rainbow-chasing for this young man.
He was of humble extraction in his native Yamoussoukro in Cote d’ Ivoire. Born
in 1986 among nine siblings, he was given none of the fan-fare, the equivalent
of the proverbial dedication at ‘pride-rock.’ He played rural street football
bare-foot, only saving enough to buy his first boots at age 15. His special
talent took him abroad in 2005 at age 19. From then on he conquered the world
of football. Scaling all height of the game, it all came tumbling when he
collapsed on the turf during training on 5th June 2017 in Beijing,
China playing for Beijing Enterprises. Efforts to resuscitate the young man
proved futile and he was lost to the world at the tender age of 30.
Lesson: You are never too young to make an impact. Even the
fledglings receive the ethereal clarion call. Give your all in what you do
aiming for ultimate greatness in all endeavours. Try to be a human worthy of
emulation.
Anyone who was born and old enough to follow Kenyan politics
in the nineties must have heard of the name Nicholas Kipyator Biwott. The
self-styled ‘total man’ may have fooled many with his diminutive stature but not
his confident strut that belied the African Savannah Lion. He was born in 1940 to
a grocer in Keiyo District, in the former Rift Valley province. Shortly
afterwards, his family moved to Eldoret where his father was a market trader
and herdsman. He was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug at an early age that in
his teens; complementing education he also helped his father in trade. By the
time he was 20 he had his own grocery and eggs business. To expand the venture
he took on funds from a finance institution. From early adulthood he inculcated
in himself a business philosophy of purchasing small or flailing businesses and
reinvesting in them with a more frugal and targeted management structure. He
grew his enterprise and with that his own personal fortune and stature as a preeminent
entrepreneur immensely. He also made strides while working in Civil service. He
rose from a local DO to Senior Secretary in the Ministry of Finance working
under no less than the future third president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki. His enterprising
mentality, zeal and working relationship with the higher echelons of power saw
him noticed by Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and on personal recommendation moved to the
Home Affairs Ministry; a docket held by then Vice President Daniel Moi, an
erstwhile tribesman. Here, personal rapport was kindled between the two which
saw their collective future destinies intertwined. After unsuccessfully bidding
for the Keiyo South seat in the 1974 polls, he finally captured it in 1979. For
29 years he enjoyed a vice grip on the seat and colossus status in the Kanu politics
of the entire Elgeyo Marakwet. While a Member of Parliament and personal
confidant of the president; he had his hour under the sun. He was appointed
Minister of State in the Office of the President holding the portfolio from
1979 to 1982. He became as powerful as to be equated to ‘de-facto Vice
President’ under Moi. Thereafter, he held seven other Cabinet posts throughout
the Moi regime ending in 2002. He had a taint in tenure that saw him step aside
from all roles in government between 1991 to 1997; heeding to public hue and
cry, for suspicion of involvement in the assassination of high rising Foreign
Affairs Minister, Robert Ouko. New evidence portends that the ghastly crime was
ostensibly committed in one of the official presidential residences. All said,
few politicians have impacted the facets of life in both Elgeyo Marakwet and
Kenya as a whole as this man. The consummate philanthropist of vast fortune
breathed his last on 11th July 2017 in Nairobi hospital following a long
bravely borne battle with throat cancer.
Lesson: No matter
your genesis, fortune always favours the hardworking and enterprising man.
After success never forget that you owe society both a moral and pecuniary debt
of gratitude. None is so great as to bolt the door to the grave.
When Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki was born at the dawn of 1937 in
Rumuruti, Laikipia; not even one at the acme of his profession as a clairvoyant
could have foreseen his destiny both in the Kenyan political landscape and
government. At his death he was the only leader who had served in the first
Kenyan Independence parliament in 1963 still in elective office. By the time he
came of age, the clamour for independence in Kenya was at fever pitch and he
was determined to be a player. He eventually took the Mau-Mau oath and was a
junior leader of its revolutionary council. In 1963 he was elected Member of
Parliament for Laikipia West, a position he held up until 1983. He was defeated
in the elections but thrown a lifeline in 1993 to 1997 as a nominated MP. He
was re-elected in 2002 to 2007 in the same constituency. Throughout his
political life he has held himself as a beacon of hope for the populace in
terms of servant leadership. Whereas many view public office as the once in a
lifetime opportunity for self aggrandizement and exercising wanton unwarranted abuse
of power, GG took this as the opportunity to show his altruistic nature. No
less, when many colleagues from the Mount Kenya region took to proffering a
demi-god status to President Kenyatta and avoiding any friction with him; the
rable rouser in 1966 went against the grain. He introduced a bill in parliament
to try to influence resettlement of the landless in post-independent Kenya. In
view of the fact that the strife for independence had disenfranchised many
Africans, leaving only a few with the financial muscle to purchase vacated
colonial land. Prevailing government policy was that of ‘willing buyer- willing
seller’ unfathomable to a gentleman who had spent all his adulthood in the
forest fighting for freedom with the Mau Mau. He owned a land buying company
ostensibly to resettle the landless. With this in mind he sought to influence policy
to cap land prices at Sh.10,000 per acre to favour as many people as possible
not just the former colonial home guards. He was at cross purpose with government,
but he was determined in his cause. He failed in this venture but still had
caught the president’s eye all the while endearing himself to the people.
Coincidentally, in 1972 his efforts bore fruit as he was appointed Assistant
Minister for Lands, Settlement and Physical planning. He held this post to 1979
when he tasted induction into cabinet as a powerful Minister for Internal
Security and Provincial Administration. He was reverted to his previous role
with full ministerial power in 1982 serving for a year. Continuing his streak
as anathema to subservience and complacency, he in 2009 threatened to organize all
local gangs wrecking havoc to overthrow the government which he deemed insular
to the suffering of the masses. He was arraigned in a Mombasa court over the
matter. In April 2013, he was handed a lifeline back to public office when he
was elected Senator of Laikipia County. He held the post until his demise on 30th
June 2017. On the education front he was not one to slouch to modest levels. He
had a Diploma at entry into Parliament attained in 1959. He inspired many when
after going out of government in 1985, enrolled for a course in the Institute
of Administrative Accountancy. If you thought he was in his sunset years, in
2016 he graduated with a PhD in International Relations at the University of
Nairobi. You feel you were done with learning after Graduation with a mere Bachelors
Degree, you were no doubt put to shame by the grand old man.
Lesson: Learning is a continuum that is only interrupted by
death. You are never too old for school. Also never bow down to policy that is
detrimental to your constituents when you have power to influence its change.
Legacy is of prime consideration.
Amb. Bethuel Kiplagat was a man with a feathered hat as far
as achievement in Civil Service, Academia and peace-keeping in foreign missions
is concerned. Born on 28th November 1937, he studied Physical
Science at Makerere before moving onto Sociology of Religion at University of
Sorbonne in Paris. He served as a Deputy Secretary of National Christian Council
of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) from 1971 to 1978. He was on tour of duty as a
Kenyan Ambassador to France and the United Kingdom between 1978 and 1983. He
returned as the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs from then to 1991 where
his toil mid-wifed peace processes in Uganda, Mozambique and Ethiopia. He was a
resource person for IGAD in the Sudan conflict. He served as Chairman of the
African Medical Research Foundation from 1993 to 2003. Under the IPPG agreement
between the opposition and churches in Kenya, he took on the role of an
Election Monitor under the NCCK for the 1997 elections. Between 2003 to 2005 he
was the Kenyan Special envoy for the Somalia Peace process. Between 2009 to 2010
he was the Chairman for the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission in
Kenya to probe past human right violations by the previous governments in Kenya
before then. He was eventually forced to acrimoniously resign in November 2010
when he was investigated for his role in the Wagalla Massacre at Wajir airstrip
in 1984. This was a major human right violation in Kenya’s history and his
commission would have had conflicted interest to investigate it with him at the
helm. He denied involvement but as one of those who sat in the Kenyan
Intelligence Committee due to the portfolio he held at the time, it would be
foolhardy to deny culpability. He toured as part of a delegation to the area
prior to the gut wrenching, macabre undertaking. He made an application in
August 2016 to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution to launch new
investigation into the matter with a view to explicate his name from the saga.
He passed on, the morning of 14th June 2017.
Lesson: Even the high and mighty envoys of this world cannot
negotiate with the grim-reaper when he has your name written in his collection schedule
for the day.
The bolt out of the clear sky of all these was Retired Major
General Joseph Kasaine ole Nkaissery. He was a sitting Cabinet secretary;
holding a portfolio that put him as first among equals even among cabinet
colleagues. He was the Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security. He was a
relative youth compared to the other three previously discussed having been
born in 1949 on the twelfth birthday of the previous entry in our write up. He
was a career soldier who joined the now defunct Kenya Army in 1973. As a
military man he kept to a strict routine of exercise and discipline. In 1982 he
became a Combat Instructor at Kenya Army. As one of the more erudite
servicemen, he had a steady rise in the ranks to hold the post of Military
assistant to the Chief of General Staff between 1987 and 1991. By December
2002, he was a Commandant of Armed Forces Training College. His proclivity for
academics; though may have been thought of as petered when he dropped out of a
Bachelor of Education Degree at Kenyatta University in 1971 was alive and well.
He enrolled at the Defence Staff College Military Academy in India in 1985 for
a year. He also attended the United States War College to study military
intelligence and surveillance. He later returned to Kennedy School Harvard in
1996 to 1997 to study Leadership, Development and Strategic Management. On the
Political front he was elected MP for Kajiado Central in December 2002. He was
reelected on an Orange Democratic Movement ticket in 2007. Consequent to the
formation of the coalition government under President Kibaki and Prime Minister
Odinga after the viciously contested election and a tumultuous 2008 peace deal,
he was named assistant minister for internal security later moved to defence until
2013. He was re-elected MP for the constituency for a third term under the same
ODM ticket now in the opposition. In December 2014 and as a direct consequence
of the misadventures of one Joseph ole Lenku as a Minister; utterly inept for a
time when an occupation force had been sent to Somalia and the Al-Shabaab
terrorists were hitting back with ruthless abandon at national installations,
he was tapped as full CS. As per the provisions of the newly enacted 2010
constitution he could not serve as both MP and CS concurrently, he had to
relinquish his parliamentary seat. He served with distinction in the role;
sometimes scarring friend and foe in his efforts to keep the nations enemies at
bay while keeping security sound within. On the day prior to his death; 7th
July 2017 associated with remembrances of past opposition rallies and
repressive violence by security agents, he had attended several meetings,
prayer rallies, scheduled a fund-raising, assured of security at the IAAF youth
championships and the forthcoming General Elections. Despite this schedule, he
still had time to hit the Gym at 9:30 pm, have dinner and talked of slight
chest pain. After retiring to bed that night, for him the lights were out
eternally. As a healthy looking character and exuding good continence even on
his last day on earth he gave no one even the slightest indication of potential
departure. At the time of penning this piece, foul play was still being
suspected with funeral arrangements in top gear.
Lesson: Death like a thief snatches when least expected. It
can paradoxically snatch with effortless ease the life of a man who ran the
police force which arrests other thieves fleeing with it to the ethereal realm.
No comments:
Post a Comment