Ogendo was an unrelenting champion of land reform

Prof Okoth-Ogendo pointed out the consequences of the plan which, though it had many benefits, wiped out customary land tenure and created a landless and near-landless class.

The don was an articulate and unrelenting critic of the zero-sum game. The socio-economic and political consequences of the Swynnerton Plan are still being felt today in the form of poverty, endless litigation over title and ethnic clashes over land rights.

gigirimwaura@yahoo.com