Plans for Jaramogi fete complete

By LAWRENCE ALURU

Preparations for the annual memorial for Kenya’s first Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga are complete.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) nominated MP Oburu Oginga said the commemoration would begin tomorrow with a symposium at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology.

Dr Oginga, the eldest son of the late freedom fighter, said the keynote speakers would be veteran politician Burudi Nabwera and Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o.

Football match

He said speeches would be followed by a friendly football match between Gor Mahia and Bondo United.

Oburu told The Standard that 10 bulls would be slaughtered for the occasion.

At the symposium, there will be a display of the history of Jaramogi’s struggle for democratic space, including how he helped liberate Kenya from one-party rule in 1992.

Jaramogi was one of the pioneer freedom fighters in Kenya during  the colonial era.

The two-day ceremony will climax on Saturday with prayers at Nyamira Anglican Church and thereafter, invited guests will join the family at the home of the late founder of the Forum for Restoration and Democracy (Ford) in Akango, Nyamira, for celebrations.

Many guests

“We expect many guests and many politicians to join us during the celebrations at Mzee’s home,” Oginga said.

This will be the 20th commemoration event. Jaramogi died on January 21, 1994, at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu, aged 83.

Elders from his clan have laid out an elaborate traditional ceremony complete with special rites reserved for a person of his status.

Together with the founding President Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei, Kungu Karumba, Bildad Kaggia and Fred Kubai, Jaramogi’s name is synonymous with the history of the independence struggle.