By Prof Olola Achieng Oneko
Original title: The Raila I’ve Known Since Childhood
Owadwa Wuod Nyalego (My brother, son of the daughter of Alego), when we spoke on the morning of your departure to India, you were upbeat and confident we would meet at a later date to continue with our usual engagements.
I have known you for over 70 years living together in Kaloleni, Kisumu, in one compound with our parents and siblings. In later years, I joined and lived with you in Germany where you studied Engineering at the Otto-Von-Guericke University, Magdeburg.
You opted for engineering and not medicine (which our parents preferred) because you could not withstand the handling of anatomies in the morgue.
After you graduated in 1970 with Top Honours with a combined Bachelor and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, I remember our ride in a Tram in Magdeburg and that period when political apathy against blackism you hilariously quipped, “Do these Germans know that I am a qualified Top Honours Engineer…”
We have laughed about that moment for many years, and it has remained our great pride that to this day, your Portrait hangs in Otto-Von-Guericke University Hall of Fame for your academic excellence and as a top alumnus of the university.
When our fathers walked out of the government in 1966, I recall a heated political discussion with protagonists for and against KPU and KANU by students in a Leipzig city restaurant, which turned into a scuffle resulting in scars you bear on your hands and head.
The Jaramogi and Oneko family have shared a bond of friendship for over 90 years, going through serious political trials, tribulations and victories. When you were taken into detention, we were with your family.
My brother, my friend, Raila, so go well and find the world of our ancestors. May Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Ramogi Achieng Oneko receive you into your eternal rest.
