Mboya and Jaramogi ‘were close’
Mourners carry the coffin bearing the body of Mrs Pamela Arwa Mboya during the funeral service at her farm in Lambwe, Suba District, at the weekend. Cabinet minister Anyang’ Nyong’o accused the NSIS of leaking a letter he purportedly wrote to the PM over the maize scandal. Photo/JACOB OWITI
What you need to know:
Raila says the two leaders had different political views but remained friends
Prime minister Raila Odinga has dismissed claims that his father, Mr Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and the then Planning minister Tom Mboya were sworn enemies.
Speaking at the funeral of Mr Mboya’s widow, Pamela, at the weekend, Mr Odinga said: “Those who were around know that it was Jaramogi who led the country in mourning Mr Mboya.”
Jaramogi was Kenya’s first vice-president while Mr Mboya was the Planning minister when he was assassinated in 1969.
Differing views
“There was no enmity between the two gallant Kenyans even though they held differing views on the route they wanted the country to take,” he said.
And Mrs Ida Odinga, the wife of the Prime Minister, said the book that Mrs Pamela Mboya was writing before she died in a South Africa hospital should be published.
“She had intended to talk about her life with the late husband and 40 years later after his assassination. Let us collect what she had already worked on and have it published,” Mrs Odinga said.
Her views were backed by Foreign minister Moses Wetang’ula.
During the funeral service, Medical Services minister Anyang’ Nyong’o accused the National Security Intelligence Service of rocking the Grand Coalition Government.
He accused the spy agency was “spreading propaganda” which had delayed completion of Agenda Four of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which requires the government to address long-standing issues like land distribution and a new constitution.
Lands minister James Orengo revisited the murders of Mr Mboya and Dr Robert Ouko. The Ugenya MP said he was not afraid to reveal that the bullet that killed Mr Mboya came from the state.
“I will also not shy away from saying that the bullet that killed Dr Ouko came from the state but to date, the deaths are unresolved,” he said.
Mr Ruto said that those responsible for the post-election violence should be tried together with those who participated in the chaos in which 1,133 people were killed.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta urged colleagues to stop pointing fingers at others and fulfil pledges to solve the problems the country was facing.
While paying tribute to Mrs Mboya, Mr Odinga said: “At the Bomas of Kenya, Pamela stood firm on a new constitution.”
President Kibaki, in a speech read on his behalf by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, described Mrs Mboya as a role model for Kenyan women.
Served faithfully
Mr Wetang’ula said that Mrs Mboya served the ministry faithfully for many years.
He also said that the publication of Mrs Mboya’s book would give Kenyans a chance to know more about the wife of the late nationalist.
He urged two writers, Mr Philip Ochieng and Mr Hillary Ng’weno, who were working together on the book with Mrs Mboya to ensure its publication.
