Why we should celebrate Okoth-Ogendo’s life

My spouse Athena and I would cook for him and invite African students in Cambridge to join us. The professor would party with us and regale us with the most profound stories about Africa and global politics.

The party would not break up until the wee hours of the morning! I will never forget Professor Okoth-Ogendo’s generosity with his time – it was a rare opportunity for us as students to learn from a legal icon in a social setting. Although he looked intimidating, Professor Okoth-Ogendo was very approachable.

I know that Professor Okoth-Ogendo was not a saint. No one I know is. I am not crazy about some of the things he said or did. Some people viewed him as being too close to the Moi regime at the height of its repression.

There are others who think that he should have played a more constructive role as Vice Chair of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. There’s probably more. But I never heard anyone accuse him of egregious acts or violations. Did he make mistakes? Yes.

However, a life lived in full will have such moral contradictions, especially in state that is embryonic like Kenya. While I do not want to excuse anything, I think we should judge the entire life, not just several unflattering chapters.

I want to close with something that Professor Okoth-Ogendo did for me at his own risk when I was down and out. In May 1981, I was expelled from the University of Nairobi for being a student leader.

Went into exile

I was thrown into the dungeon and then went into exile to Tanzania. But I needed transcripts and a letter from the Faculty of Law in Nairobi to be admitted to the Faculty of Law at the University of Dar-es-salaam.

At a great risk to his career, Professor Okoth-Ogendo provided me with the paperwork to authenticate me so that I could continue my studies in Dar. There was nothing in it for him.

He could have lost his job or worse. But he took a stand to help an idealistic – or misguided – young man depending on your point of view. That is the Okoth-Ogendo I knew. I would not be where I am today were it not for him.

Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and Chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.