I was only 35 when you looked at me, not through the lens of age but through the lens of belief. Belief in my ability to serve! You trusted me with the ODM ticket for the Gwassi Parliamentary seat. Later on, the same year, you elevated me to the role of Assistant Minister in your office, the office of the PM.
Baba, a few years later, you decided to give me the responsibility to lead the ODM Party, your party, your vision, as the Chairperson, a position you trusted me with for 10 years. I would later leave the position, to assume the role of Cabinet Secretary for The National Treasury, also given to me through your guidance.
Baba, your life was not an easy one. From detention to betrayals, near victories and great sacrifices. Baba you bore it all with grace that history will never forget. You taught us that one can lose an election and still win the soul of a nation. You showed us that politics, at it’s best, is about service, not self.
Today as Kenya and Africa mourn, I choose to celebrate you. To celebrate a life that moved mountains. A man who, even in death, still speaks through the constitution he helped shape, the many lives he transformed and the freedoms we enjoy.
To mama Ida and the family, thank you for sharing Baba with us. We stand with you, not just in sorrow, but in pride, because we were witness to his greatness.
Baba, Thank you. Thank you for believing in me when others did not. Thank you for the fights you fought so we could fly. Thank you for the baton you passed. We will carry it with honor.
May your soul rest in peace Jakom, knowing you did not just walk this earth, you moved it.



