Baba, We Miss You

Remembering Baba: A Giant of Democracy and Pan-Africanism Coursework. Kenya and the world today join in remembering the late former Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga, better known to us as 'Baba'. His demise marked an end to an era for a man whose colossal contributions to the Kenyan society will live forever in history.

Even as thousands of well-wishers from across the nation, and globe, fill the Migwena grounds in Bondo to mark the first anniversary of his demise and pay their last respects at his magnificent new Heroes' Family Museum, the world joins in the celebrations of a man whose sacrifices shall be immortalized.

Raila Odinga will always be remembered as a key freedom fighter and the man who triggered Kenya's Second Liberation after almost nine years of torture in the hands of the Nyayo regime. The people of Kenya have lost a patriot who had selflessly dedicated his life to fighting for the sovereignty of the people of Kenya. The fruits of his labor and sacrifice are reaping tremendously as the country witnesses a country run by its very own citizens in the form of the 2010 progressive constitution.

This constitution saw the end of the imperial presidency and ushered in an era of decentralization and county governance whose main objective was to boost the economy by tapping into each of the 47 counties' resources.

The statesmen will also be remembered internationally for his role in rallying Presidents Yoweri Museveni and regional leaders to the Pan-Africanism philosophy, a man who put the greater good of the nation before his personal interests. He will be remembered for his unparalleled statesmanship as demonstrated by the 2008 Grand Coalition government and the 2018 handshake deal.

The people of Kenya have lost a leader who understood leadership, a man who stood for integrity and justice in a country that was at one time dominated by tyranny and nepotism. But today, the world joins the Kenyan people in mourning the death of this giant of history, who, even in death, will continue to live in the hearts and minds of a proud nation who shall always remember him.