Ojode 14 years on: When cometh another Sirikal?

William Shakespeare once wrote that the fault isn’t in our stars, but in ourselves. In other words, those who perpetually shift blame invite doubts about their honesty.

Heroism isn’t about claiming credit for victories while evading responsibility for defeats. Those who unite behind a common cause must also be willing to uphold the doctrine of collective responsibility. This is why the late ODM chief Raila Odinga’s friends who can’t keep their mouths shut over Azimio’s tragic loss in 2022 must be told off. They should take their scapegoating to another planet.

Two of Mr Odinga’s top allies – Mr Dennis Onyango and Prof Makau Mutua – clashed this week over claims made during a TV show last Sunday. What political capital does these ingrates want to extract from the legacy of a patriot they failed until the last minute?

Generally speaking, our elites lack a virtue called fidelity. Yet a key attribute of true leadership is the ability to be firm and discerning even in the face of loss and uncertainty. That’s why, as we mark another anniversary of the death of former Assistant Minister Joshua Orwa Ojode, I choose to honour his memory. Fidelity is a quality he embodied throughout his public life.

Mr Ojode died alongside minister George Saitoti, their bodyguards and pilots in a chopper crash on June 10, 2012 in Kibiko Forest. He was my friend and my MP. In his early days as a pupil at Got Kojowi, my late father, Mr John Mark Oloo, was his teacher.

The fallen Ndhiwa lawmaker was by all means a people’s person. Had he been alive today, Mr Ojode would be the automatic Luo community kingpin after Mr Odinga. His guts and the ‘neck of a giraffe’ could only be compared to Jakom’s mettle and political mystery.

Today, Luo Nyanza politics is crowded with self-appointed high priests. They make Mr Ojode turn in his grave. In the late MP’s philosophy, politics was about public interest. In rallies, boardrooms or when making his case on the floor of Parliament, his stomach never came first. He hated betrayal, and even turned down a ministerial appointment in the aftermath of the 2005 referendum fallout.

In Parliament, he often defended the police against unfair public criticism but was equally firm in defending Kenyans against police brutality. Somehow, he managed to balance competing interests. For these traits, he earned the name ‘Sirikal’ which is a corrupted Swahili for government. That was the stature Mr Ojode had attained in the three terms he served in Bunge.

Let me tell you a story. In 2008 when Mr Odinga and President Kibaki formed the Grand Coalition Government and Mr Ojode was appointed Internal Security Assistant Minister, he rejected the offer. Having been one of Mr Odinga’s most steadfast allies from the days of Ford-Kenya and NDP, he considered the appointment condescending and beneath his contribution to ODM campaigns.

He promptly wrote to Mr Odinga communicating his decision to turn down the position. The following day, he retreated to his home at Unga Hills in Ndhiwa. Hearing what had transpired, my father quickly assembled a team of respected elders. They visited Mr Ojode and pleaded with him to accept the job and serve Kenyans. The man listened pensively. In the end, he accepted the appointment, albeit grudgingly.

That episode revealed something profound about the MP. He could set aside personal disappointment when service to the nation demanded. Mr Ojode was a leader who could do something not because it pleased him, but because of his unflinching fidelity to his constituents and in the bigger interest of the republic.

As we mark the 14th anniversary of the passing of Mr Ojode and Prof Saitoti, may the current crop of leaders draw lessons from their lives. We would also do well remembering Prof Saitoti’s caution that there comes a time when the country is more important than the individual. Today, that message rings truer than ever as we face the 2027 elections. Rest in peace, Sirikal.  

-The writer is a communications practitioner. X:@markoloo