A tribute to departed Permanent Secretary David Nalo

What you need to know:

  • In Hong Kong, he was offering leadership to African delegations and supporting the success of Amina as the first African to chair the general conference of WTO.
  • When we came up to the challenge of Uchumi supermarkets in the throes of death, I found a dependable friend and leader in Nalo. He led the task force we set up with debtors and stakeholders with finesse.
  • He was very instrumental in helping me stand up to the slippery tactics of the Tanzanian delegation then led by Jakaya Kikwete, and Museveni’s obsession with Uganda’s expansive list of so-called sensitive products.

David Obonyo Nalo, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of EAC, will be laid to rest at his rural home near Ahero on Saturday.

As we pay our last respects to this valiant son of the soil, I find it appropriate to remember him in a very personal way.

I first met David early in 2003 when he was director of Statistics and I served on the Cabinet sub-committee of Vision 2030.

I immediately was impressed by a quality that I was to appreciate throughout the subsequent years.

He had an eye for detail, saw clearly where we needed to go, yet was patient with the slow witted, and humble with the slow footed.

No sooner had he been appointed PS at Planning than I was requesting the President to post him to my ministry at Trade and Industry.

I was glad to receive him soon after. I knew we would be compatible on a number of scores. We shared a sense of intellectual maturity which could take criticism positively and use it to grow our capacity.

His calm assured way would compensate for my more brash disposition as we sought to create a welcoming environment to the mighty captains of enterprise and lowly crusaders for the informal sector.

Our shared belief in the potential of Vision 2030 and the role of the private sector would resonate well with our key clientele as a ministry.

One area of mutual obsession was the arena of international trade negotiation. On our watch, Kenya evolved as a major international player and a real leader for the continent.

This success was founded on a confluence of lucky factors. We established what in soccer is called a diamond formation.

A triangular formation founded on synergy between technical teams under the PS, personal engagement and commitment at ministerial level, and focused delivery of evolving positions at the level of our key missions of trade diplomacy.

The confluence of David as PS, ambassador Amina Mohammed as our ambassador in Geneva and head of mission to WTO, and myself as minister gave us a unique opportunity to punch beyond our weight in trade diplomacy.

At the fulcrum of this diamond was David. He effected our collective decision that a robust think-tank was the foundation of competent policy. Under his wings, KEPLOTRADE developed rapidly as a resource base and platform of dialogue on trade policy between government, civil society and academia. He leaves it easily the most successful institution of its kind on the continent.

At the 5th World Trade ministerial conference in Cancun where I chaired sessions on development issues, and even more so the 6th ministerial conference in Hong Kong where I chaired the complex sessions on agriculture, I found success in offering leadership to the developing world only because David Nalo informally took over my responsibilities as leader of the Kenyan delegation.

In Hong Kong, he was offering leadership to African delegations and supporting the success of Amina as the first African to chair the general conference of WTO.

I will treasure the memories of our late night conferencing to take stock of our 18-hour working sessions and plan coming activity.

While some of us ravelled in the limelight we drew from our elevated position in these conferences, David was comfortable to work the line from behind the scenes.

Few of us saw the crucial role he was playing. And he sought no credit for his tireless sacrifices. The same can be said for his role in negotiating for Kenya to host the AGOA forum in 2008. I depended on his skills and style for this success.

When we came up to the challenge of Uchumi supermarkets in the throes of death, I found a dependable friend and leader in Nalo. He led the task force we set up with debtors and stakeholders with finesse.

While I was working State House to secure the Sh680 million needed to revive the fallen giant, David was successfully extracting commitments from creditors and suppliers to allow the company breathing space.

All who had any role to do with Uchumi’s revival will remember how engaged, patient and passionate David was that this national icon should not die.

The energy and patience David showed at international trade was more than doubled in his pursuit of regional integration.

Trade was the lead ministry for the EAC integration negotiations. David offered true leadership as we firmed up Kenya’s negotiating positions especially as the dateline for Customs Union negotiations loomed.

He was very instrumental in helping me stand up to the slippery tactics of the Tanzanian delegation then led by Jakaya Kikwete, and Museveni’s obsession with Uganda’s expansive list of so-called sensitive products.

When the coalition government decided to move David to EAC ministry, at first I was pained at the diminished capacity at Trade since Amina had also left Geneva.

I felt pained that ethnic and partisan biases were disrupting a good team. I residually hold this consideration as I mourn what should easily have been the head of public service in Kenya.

But I also celebrate with pride the work David has done in offering leadership, vision and passion to EAC integration.

As the community completes the vision set out in the treaty of 1999, East Africa has gained from leaders like him who are defining new frontiers to conquer the fears that have slowed down the dream of our forebears.

There is no better way to honour this good man than to dedicate ourselves to the ideals of regional integration he so cherished.

Dr Kituyi is a director with the Kenya Institute of Governance [email protected]