Scholar Calestous Juma gone but legacy lives on

US-based Kenyan scholar Calestous Juma who has died while undergoing treatment in Boston, Massachusetts. The Harvard professor was listed in the inaugural list of “2017 Most Reputable People on Earth”.

What you need to know:

  • According to Mr Wanyama, what is left for Jist to be set up are some legal issues to do with registration.

  • Born on June 23, 1953, Prof Juma was the only Kenyan to be on the inaugural list of “Most Reputable People on Earth” in 2017.

Before his death, Kenya’s celebrated academician and researcher Calestous Juma sought to leave a lasting legacy to his community, country and the world.

The foundations for the John and Clementina Juma Institute of Science and Technology (Jist) — to be based in Port Victoria, Busia County, in memory of his late parents — had been laid, save for a few regulatory matters.

The African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi (Acts), which he established in 1988, has remained a flourishing centre for harnessing science and technology for sustainable development.

Just like Acts, Jist was meant to advance human well-being by nurturing creativity, advancing experiential learning, fostering computing and data analytics, promoting medical innovation and environmental protection.

Unfortunately, the professor of the Practice of International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States died on Friday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

RESOURCES

“The vision Prof Juma had for Jist was big. He wanted to harness the resources of Lake Victoria for science and technology research. The name Jist is principally an abbreviation of the names of his late parents,” said Mr Peter Wanyama, Prof Juma’s legal counsel and founding trustee of Jist. “He wanted to set up something similar to Acts but which will exploit the vast resources of Lake Victoria.”

According to Mr Wanyama, what is left for Jist to be set up are some legal issues to do with registration.

“At the time of his death, we were creating Jist as a local entity under the Kenyan law. That will continue. Once that is completed, we will move on to other issues, including global fund-raising,” said Mr Wanyama.

Two committees, one in the US and another in Kenya, have been set up to work on the arrangements for his burial in his home village of Port Victoria.

According to a tentative programme, the body of the scholar will arrive in the country on January 3, with the burial set for January 6.

RESPECTED MAN

The death of Prof Juma has brought the world community together in mourning a man who was respected globally for his interest in harnessing science, technology and the environment for poverty alleviation.

“Juma was a widely acclaimed academic whose research and writing focused on science, technology as well as the environment, and on the ways in which they could be harnessed to improve the lives of people. He won multiple international awards for his work on sustainable development, and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans for 2016 by New African magazine,” Harvard Kennedy School said of the academic giant.

His impressive curriculum vitae is one to admire and the establishment of Jist, with both a local and international board of trustees, would have just added to his many accomplishments.

“I came to rely on Calestous’ invincible good spirits in all of our conversations about his own work and that of the Kennedy School regarding Africa,” said Prof Douglas Elmendorf.

“For all of Calestous’ amazing accomplishments and contributions to the Kennedy School and to the world, he was always modest about what he had done and focused entirely on what he could do next. He was a true model for us all to aspire to. I will miss him very much, as I know so many of us will,” according to Kennedy School dean K. Price, a professor of Public Policy.

WORKED TIRELESSLY

“Calestous worked tirelessly with all of us to advance the school’s work in technology and innovation, particularly in Africa,” said Prof Archon Fung.

The academic dean and Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship went on: “He warmed me with his humour and enlightened me with his wisdom. He touched so many of us so often, and he will be greatly missed by all of us in the Kennedy School community.”

Born on June 23, 1953, Prof Juma was the only Kenyan to be on the inaugural list of “Most Reputable People on Earth” in 2017.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Nasa leader Raila Odinga and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed are some of the key leaders who have mourned Prof Juma.

“Those who had the pleasure of meeting him — or communicating with him online and offline — will testify to his warmth, his love of learning, and his great generosity.

ECONOMIC ADVICE

Whoever you were, he replied quickly and courteously, eager to let you have the benefit of his learning and experience. We will miss him,” President Kenyatta said in his condolence message.

Prof Juma was a member of the National Social and Economic Council, an advisory organisation that was set up by former President Mwai Kibaki to provide timely, accurate and independent economic and social advice to improve the management of the economy.

Mr Odinga said the scholar had helped build the country’s profile across the globe while President Kagame, the only African leader who made it to the “Most Reputable People” list, said the world had lost “a brilliant mind who was dedicated to innovation, education and prosperity”.