Monday, June 18, 2012

Leaders turn ‘Sirkal’ burial into campaign for national unity


Leaders turn ‘Sirkal’ burial into campaign for national unity

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By DANIEL OTIENO dotieno@ke.nationmedia.com AND MAURICE KALUOCH newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, June 17  2012 at  22:30
IN SUMMARY
In their own words
William Ruto (Eldoret North MP): “He was the minister that never was. He was the minister in every other way but he did not fly the flag.”
Raila Odinga (PM): “Instead of going to give passports and ID cards, I decided to let Mr Otieno Kajwang do that and let Mr Ojode deal with the police. And he did a good job .”
Moses Wetangula (Trade minister): ‘‘When you get to God, please keep answering questions for him the way you answered in Parliament.”
Kalonzo Musyoka (VP): “He could belong to ODM and still charm his way to PNU; he was comfortable with Wiper and other political formations without lowering his standing in society,”
Sally Kosgei (Agriculture minister): “I never quite understood where he got his humour. But when the history of coalition government is written, the name of Ojode will feature as one of the people, if not the only person I know of, who worked daily to make the coalition work. He almost made people enjoy working in that arrangement, which is completely difficult.”
Calls for national unity across party and ethnic divides on Sunday dominated the funeral of Internal Security and Provincial Administration assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojodeh.
Party affiliation took the back seat as President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga led the nation, with 98 MPs present in paying glowing tribute to Mr Ojodeh whose leadership transcended the ODM-PNU divide in the coalition government.
Although he was an Orange party MP, the late assistant minister, fondly known “Sirkal”, was lauded for reaching across partisan divides.
Mr Ojodeh was buried at his Unga Farm in Kanyamwa Location, Ndhiwa Division, Homa Bay County, shortly after 2.56pm.
Mr Ojodeh died together with his boss, Internal Security minister George Saitoti, in apolice helicopter crash last Sunday.
Other victims of the ill-fated flight were pilots Nancy Gituanja and Luke Oyugi and bodyguards Thomas Murimi and Joshua Tonkei.
The President reiterated his call made during the burial of Prof Saitoti, that leaders who spoke at the two functions live true to their words.
“Why do we keep repeating the same words rather than acting on them, rather than allowing those words to become  our guide?
“That is what will make a difference. That is what will bring us together and make us more faithful and genuine people,” he said.
He  said of Mr Ojodeh: “This is a sad day for Kenya as we congregate to remember a leader, a patriot  and selfless servant of the people. His death is a tremendous loss to his family, relatives and to the country at large.”
There was a light moment during the sombre occasion when Mr Odinga explained why he settled on Mr Ojodeh for assistant minister in the coalition government.
“I wanted to give Mr Ojodeh a full ministerial post, but when it came to the national security docket, a minister had already been appointed.
“There were negotiations, but these would have been like removing meat from the mouth of a hyena.
“So I decided to let Kajwang’ (Minister for Immigration) deal with issuing of IDs and passports while Ojodeh dealt with security issues,” he said.
“I took him to internal security, which was more tasking. He was happy where he was”.
Mr Odinga said that people must think as Kenyans first instead of their tribes if full prosperity was to be achieved. “Lets us dream of uniting this country so that me remove the barrier of ethnic divide.
“Let us be Kenya and one Kenya, that’s how we can pay tribute to Ojodeh and Saitoti,” said the PM, cautioning leaders against seeking shelter in Gema, Kamatusa and similar ethnic movements.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka described Mr Ojodeh as a man who stood tall in his ideas and vision for the country just like his towering height.
Mr Kalonzo, who was the chairman of the MPs’ funeral committee, described Mr Ojodeh as “a bridge builder, peacemaker and committed and dedicated servant who conducted his duty.
He inspired hope and brought a smile to the faces of those who interacted with him. “His sense of objectivity and fairness set him apart from the rest.
“That’s why he belonged to ODM and still charmed his way to PNU. His was not laced with tribal bigotry,” he added.
National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende said that he would be missed on the floor of the house.
“MPs have come from north, east, south and west essentially  because they have come to mourn a great Kenyan. He was a man for all seasons and he will be surely missed,” he said.
Lands minister James Orengo  described Mr Ojodeh as a selfless leader who served his Ndhiwa constituents and the country at large with a lot of dedication.
“We Kenyans are good at funerals and at weddings. But when it comes to making  choices we cease to be Kenyans. We speak here as politicians, but when we leave here we will go back to our ethnic cocoons,” he said.
Agriculture minister Sally Koskei said when history of the coalition governments in Kenya will be written Mr Ojodeh’s name will definitely feature. “He made people admire working in an arrangement which is normally difficult,” she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi said Ndhiwa has lost a great leader. “He made Parliament lively whenever he was debating on the floor,” the Sabatia MP said.
Trade Minister Moses Wetang’ula said Mr Ojodeh was a man who made no enemies. “We have lost an MP and a leader, we have lost a friend”.
Eldoret North MP William Ruto described Mr Ojodeh as a courageous leader. Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua described him as a man who was a friend to all.

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