11 prominent personalities whose deaths shook the nation

The year 2017 will go down as the year that saw one of the highest number of deaths of prominent personalities in Kenya’s history.  February, July and August were particularly grim.

Nicholas Biwott

The once powerful Cabinet Minister in the Kanu administration lived a life shrouded in secrecy and mystery.

So discreet was Mr Biwott that even on his death, most Kenyans had no idea where he lived, his children and the number of houses and properties he owned.

Not even his former boss, retired President Daniel arap Moi, knew where he lived.

At his requiem Mass and burial, the man who served in eight ministries and was nicknamed ‘Total Man’, was only eulogised by his Israeli wife, Hannie, and grandchildren. Also present were Hannie’s two co-wives, university lecturer-turned-politician, Prof Margaret Kamar, and Kalista Lessie.

A wealthy man who had interests in aviation, hospitality, agriculture and the oil industry, Mr Biwott’s life was not without controversy as his name was adversely mentioned in the death of his former cabinet colleague Robert Ouko. His name was however, expunged from the inquest files on the orders of the court.

He would later earn the title Bull of Auckland after an incident in which he was accused of harassing a hotel worker during a foreign trip. Before his death in July at Nairobi Hospital after a long illness, Mr Biwott had been reported dead numerous times through fake social media reports and rumours.

PROF CALESTOUS JUMA

The US-based Kenyan scholar, who was in June named as one of the most reputable people in the world, died in December while undergoing treatment in Boston, Massachusetts.

Prof Juma was the only Kenyan to be listed in the inaugural list of “2017 Most Reputable People on Earth” alongside luminaries such as Bill Gates, Barack and Michelle Obama and the Pope.

Until his death, a member of faculty at Harvard University, Prof Juma was one of the most sought after experts in the field of application of science, technology and innovation to sustainable development in developing and developed countries.

An intellectual, he was prolific on social media, frequently sharing his writings on Twitter.

In 2012, 2013 and 2014, he had been listed among the most influential 100 Africans by the New African magazine.

The Budalang’i-born scholar began his career as a science teacher in Mombasa between 1974 and 1978, before becoming the first science and environment journalist for the Daily Nation between 1978 and 1979.

PROF OKOTH OKOMBO

Generally regarded as the father of sign language studies in Africa and a leading light in the field of Nilotic Language Studies, Prof Okoth Okombo died on November 2 while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.

Born on November 8, 1950 on Rusinga Island, the founder and director of the Kenyan Sign Language Research Project, exited the stage aged 67.

He was a passionate proponent of teaching young children in their mother tongue and believed that a language policy that favoured English had condemned millions to illiteracy when many were, in fact, “geniuses”.

The University of Nairobi-based lecturer was revered as the ‘Noam Chomsky of Africa?” because just like the father of modern linguistics, he dabbled in such varied disciplines as mathematics, philosophy and politics.

GODFREY GITAHI (GG) KARIUKI

The senator, who joined politics in 1959, served in all post-independent governments.

At his death on June 30, 2017 aged 78, he was the only serving lawmaker who had also served in the first Parliament after Kenya’s independence in 1963.

In 2015, he once again made history when at 76 he attained a PhD from the University of Nairobi.

In his heyday, GG’s clout at the apex of his political career was matched only by that of Kanu-era strongman Nicholas Biwott who died the same month as the senator.

The diminutive man who made up for what he lacked in frame with martial arts,  was adversely mentioned in the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report over gross human rights violations during his tenure at the helm of the Internal Affairs docket.

BISHOP CORNELIUS KORIR

Bishop Korir, the Eldoret Catholic Diocese bishop, was pronounced dead on arrival at St Luke’s Hospital in Eldoret in October.

He took over leadership of Eldoret Diocese from Bishop John Njenga after he was transferred to Mombasa before his retirement.

Besides his vocal stand against injustice in national politics, the late Bishop Korir’s 27 years of episcopal ministry in Eldoret stood out for his efforts aimed at keeping peace among the warring pastoralist communities of the north.

Bishop Korir was instrumental in the distribution of relief food to families affected by the 1991-92 clashes. The Bomet-born bishop played a key role in the restoration of peace in the North Rift during the 2007/08 post-election violence. He died aged 67.

DR WAHOME GAKURU

The Nyeri governor, who died in a road crash in November, was an academic and former director of Vision 2030 — the national development blueprint.

As a director of Vision 2030 in the Mwai Kibaki administration, Dr Gakuru was one of the brains behind the big infrastructure projects whose aim was to make Kenya a middle income economy in two decades.

He becomes the second Nyeri governor to die in office after Nderitu Gachagua died of illness earlier this year.

Dr Gakuru, 51, died in the morning of November 7 after his official vehicle hit a guard rail at Kabati on the Nyeri-Nairobi Highway.

He eschewed trappings of power, preferring to sit in the front seat of his car and having lunch at random restaurants in Nyeri.

But, once in a while, he let his competitors know he had a sharp mind.

NDERITU GACHAGUA

The first governor in the country to die in office, Mr Gachagua had been battling pancreatic cancer for about two years. He died on February 24, 2017, at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London aged 64.

He served as the first governor of Nyeri County having been elected in March 2013 on a GNU ticket. He however, spent long months in hospital abroad because of his illness.

Mr Nderitu studied law at the University of Nairobi. Before ascending to the governor’s seat, he served as the Member of Parliament for Mathira constituency.

BETHWEL KIPLAGAT

Ambassador Kiplagat, who died in July at the age of 80 after a long illness, is remembered for spending most of his life as a peace crusader, campaigning for harmony in Kenya, East Africa and beyond.

He also chaired the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which documented historical injustices against Kenyans. He served in President Daniel Moi’s government for 13 years from 1978 to 1991 as Kenya’s ambassador to France, high commissioner to Britain, and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But while he excelled in diplomatic ventures in Somalia and other parts of Africa, he was tainted in equal measure by two tragedies of Kenya’s history — the Wagalla massacre and the Robert Ouko murder mystery.

During an interview on NTV in 2009, then head of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission wept uncontrollably when asked what he knew about the death of former Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko.

JOSEPH NKAISSERY

The 67-year-old physical fitness enthusiast who was head-hunted from the opposition to help rein in runaway insecurity in the country died suddenly on Saturday, July 8 at the peak of his sterling career.
Mr Nkaissery collapsed at his Karen home and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Before joining the government as minister for Interior, Mr Nkaissery was Member of Parliament for Kajiado Central constituency on an Orange Democratic Movement ticket.

He had, however, since his re-election in 2013 gravitated towards the Jubilee administration.

The ghosts of his military days haunted him as his role in some of the operations he was involved in, particularly in West Pokot, received widespread condemnation from residents who implicated him in the TJRC report.

BOY JUMA BOY

The Kwale senator died on February 12, 2017, while receiving treatment for high blood pressure complications at the Aga Khan Hospital.

The senator would often dazzle the Senate with his flowing Kiswahili, the language spoken mostly by his Kwale County constituents and Coast residents at large.

The lawmakers who seemed unfamiliar with the alternate national language would listen in awe whenever he spoke.

A crowd puller, Senator Boy honed his political skills at the Central Organisation of Trade Unions where he was a virulent defender of workers’ rights.

Senator Boy succeeded his father, Juma Boy, as Matuga MP in 1983 and would later retain the seat in the 1988 and 1992 elections before disappearing from the scene to return in 2013.

On his death he was succeeded by his brother Issah Juma.

DAVID MWIRARIA

One of the founding members of the Democratic Party in 1991, the Kibaki-era finance minister died on April 13, 2017. He had been receiving treatment for acute respiratory infection and cancer.

The accomplished economist and one of retired President Mwai Kibaki’s most trusted friends, was one of a few veterans who had been in the system since the 1960s, helping shape policy in post-independent Kenya.

Like Mr Kibaki, he was a graduate of Makerere University, where he studied for his master’s after attaining his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics at the University of East Africa, Uganda.

First elected MP for North Imenti in 1992, he was credited with the recovery of the economy in the early Kibaki years after the Moi years meltdown.

His suspected meddling in investigations into the Sh50 billion Anglo-Leasing scandal in which money had been wired to shadowy companies contracted in the closing days of the Daniel arap Moi presidency, dimmed his political star. He lost his seat in the 2007 elections.