September 28th 2018
His Excellencies / Right Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga / Governors /Mps/ the Clergy / distinguished family of Professor Ouma Muga, fellow mourners ladies and gentlemen.
I take this early opportunity to thank all those who supported the family in various ways in prepare a befitting send go for Professor. The funeral committees in Nairobi and here at home in Kochia, family friends and well-wishers, his excellency the president Uhuru Kenyatta, Right honorable Raila Odinga. James Orengobeing a guest of honor at the funds drive and many others…
Kindly accept our gratitude
I am here to speak on my own behalf, but I believe, I will also represent the voice of professor and the voices of the silent, yet increasingly restless and many orphaned daughters and sons of Professor Joseph Ouma Muga right here as we celebrate his life in Homabay county and beyond
I speak for those isolated and banished by political cronyism and a leadership that has no development agenda while the people desperately ask for political freedom to choose their leaders and to enjoy economic freedom in our lifetime
I’m here to speak on behalf of the dejected masses of our people, I speak on behalf of the unemployed youth, for people who seek a new generation of leaders.
When the new constitution was promulgated, we celebrated. We thought the devolved system of government was a solution for our marginalized county. We however still see in Homabay hospital for instance, we still see a rundown facility. We still see run-down schools. We still see many unemployed young people without prospects for the future. Around the county, today, men and women still drink water unfit for human consumption. That is happening today.”
I speak for all those who after 5 years and now in the second term of a devolved government has not brought them the desired change.
I am here not so much to bury my father Professor Joseph Ouma Muga, fondly known as Aburu oke kanyango, because Heros do not die, they multiply into a million other heros who cherish freedom.
I am here to pick up his spear, and make my vows that I will continue to fight for a mission of restoring the dignity of our people through attainment of economic and political freedom in our lifetime.
I am here Aburu to express my condolences to my siblings whom I know, feel and bear your beliefs, and the rest of the Kamuga family. I am here to look at your grandchildren in the eyes and tell them that their grandfathers life was not in vain
I’m here to evoke the spirit of the one who put his country men and women interest first, above his own personal safety, when it was not fashionable to do so. Who led a coup in 1971 when he noted the ideals for independence were being eroded and the champions being eliminated – Argwins kodhek. Tom Mboya. … .
Aburu, you trusted that your mission of putting the country first was embraced by various political organizations you loved, but Aburu you did not know that these organizations and the people steering them had been rendered incapable of loving you back.
You fought for what you believed was right, possessed only by your love for our people and the restoration of their dignity. In this fight you were persecuted by a generation of self-seeking politicians and disowned by your own.
Fellow Kenyans, I am comforted by the fact that Aburu died a perfect death; a death of a revolutionary because he never sold out. We should all be happy because his name will be written in the eternal book of life -the book of all who died for the betterment of all
The people of Homabay please never forget the name of Aburu oke kanyango and the best way to remember him is to continue the struggle against corruption, political cronyism, the rampant looting of public coffers, the &selection& of incompetent political leaders and for us to see TRUE Economic Freedom in our Lifetime.
Aburu the people of Homabay, Migori, Kisumu, Siaya counties are here in their numbers because they knew your worth when you were still alive you are their hero.
Many others are here because they proudly and unashamedly associated with you and what you stood for while you were still alive, they looked for solutions and guidance from you.
Equally oke Kanyango, some of the generation of selecting leaders who sold out and lied about you in 1998 in the KANU kangaroo courts are here and are crying louder than all of us who stood by you. The generation of selfish politicians that distanced themselves from you are crying crocodile tears after disowning you at a critical moment hoping poverty will finish you off.
All those who frustrated you politically because they said they can’t be led by a brilliant person they are here playing all important roles at your funeral, can we trust them or should we treat them with suspicion professor.
They prevented you from representing the people of Homabay, or even sharing your greatest asset – a brilliant mind and selfless dedication – to improve the poverty in this poverty ravaged county despite being an early advocate of devolution when it wasn’t fashionable to do so and our cries as young activists for you to be given a fair chance fell on deaf ears.
If it is true that the new generation of people of Homabay, the new generation of people of Nyanza, the new generation of the people of Kenya want to honor you, let them elect leaders who are selfless and development oriented.
After this great revolutionary is laid to rest, when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength — for his largeness of spirit — somewhere inside ourselves.
Guest Post: Peter S. O. Ouma