Nyanza's persecution that forged Jaramogi, Raila's resolve

I worked in Kisumu for the Nation newspaper at the height of Moi’s authoritarian rule. I witnessed and documented horrifying tales.

Jaramogi lost the 1992 presidential race but enhanced his cooperation with the Kanu government. I recall attending a Nyanza Leadership Conference in Siaya district. It was organised by one of the most arrogant and abrasive provincial administrators I had ever met. It assembled; politicians, scholars, professionals and the clergy.  

Jaramogi was among those in attendance. The administrator, in his opening remarks acknowledged the wealth of experience in the meeting hall: “You can see the number of professors, medical doctors and researchers in attendance here. Here you have some of the most educated people in the world. But why is it that there is so much poverty in Nyanza and the province is ravaged by HIV/Aids?” he asked.

There was no applause. There was no response. Only empty stares. But he was so full of himself to even notice that he had stirred up a hornet’s nest. I could read disappointment on Jaramogi’s face. He had lived and suffered the pain of economic isolation, destruction and marginalisation. Jaramogi ventured into business long before the administrator could learn how to crawl. Yet he was being told that people from a certain community were richer and wealthier than the Luo because they were more hardworking and armed with better entrepreneurial skills.

I later sought out Jaramogi during lunch break. I wanted to document his reaction to the arrogance displayed by the young administrator. After a long pause, he said: “I feel sorry for the young man’s stupidity and naivety. I hope one day he will realise his mistake and apologise to our people”. 

Economic decadence

I started to investigate the economic decadence in Nyanza. Agriculture had been systematically killed by the State. The first crop to go was cotton, which had sustained KICOMI (Kisumu Cotton Mills factory). Sugar industry followed suit. Cartels in government started importing second hand clothes and cheap sugar, frustrating cotton farming.

The fishing industry though thriving in the Kenyan waters of Lake Victoria was dominated by members of the arrogant administrator’s community. Luos were employed as fishermen; to battle waves and endanger their lives for the fish masters.

But the biggest shocker for me came when I decided to investigate reasons behind the alleged HIV prevalence. The arrogant administrator had demanded many times that I write articles stating that HIV infections were high among the Luos because of the cultural practice of wife inheritance.

I went under cover for weeks at the New Nyanza General hospital, now Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral Hospital. I witnessed certain doctors using one syringe to inject multiple patients. I was horrified. In my attempt to get multiple sources for the story, I received numerous death threats and was soon transferred to Nairobi on promotion. In those Kanu days, wisdom dictated when to stop pushing. I let the story slip by.           

Here was a government promoting a narrative that the Luo were promiscuous and prone to HIV/Aids infections while some of its agents were recklessly handling a medical procedure known to spread the virus.

However, the saddest chapter of my life in Kisumu, was covering the cycle of violence meted on the people. Between 1990 and 1992, the government instigated political violence that saw many members of the Luo community killed and maimed.  I still shudder each time I remember the faces of women and girls I interviewed during the riots that broke out following Dr Ouko’s assassination in February 1990. I cry whenever I recall the dreadful narration by girls and women who were sexually assaulted by members of the security forces.

I realised that by time I was witnessing the altercation between Jaramogi and Raila, the two had been to hell and back. In fact, Jaramogi had been shaped by circumstances and experience into becoming naturally harsh and difficult.

His long term personal assistant David Dimba Jakobuya says that very few people could handle Jaduong: “Even Raila knew when not to engage his father. Jaramogi was a lion who could attack scathingly. He was also very humble, inspiring and loving. Knowing Jaramogi’s mood was critical. I therefore handled the communication between father and son. Raila would wait for me to give him a signal on the right time to approach the Lion” 

It’s only Raila who understands the collective pain, they endured to free, not just the Luo but Kenyans who were held in a deadly chokehold.