Robert Ouko Murder Anniversary Set To Pass Quietly As Widow Mourns For Man Whom Kenyans Have Chosen To Forget

Today is February 13th 2007. Any idea what happened exactly 17 years ago, on this day? I am sure had I not let the cat out of the bag in my headline above, you would have had no clue.

Everybody agrees that Tom Mboya's biographer, David Goldsworthy, did an excellent job with his Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya Wanted To Forget. Except that the title of that epic book which is a must read for anybody who wants to begin to understand Kenyan politics is really not factual.

This is because for all intents and purposes Tom Mboya has successfully been forgotten despite his major contributions to this country's independence struggle and politics in general. The situation is even worse for one Dr Robert John Ouko, because he doesn't even have a street anywhere in Kenya named after him.

Bob, as his close friends knew him, was no political giant like Tom Mboya or JM Kariuki. In fact he ended up being much more popular in death than he had ever managed in life.

Former cabinet Minister Elijah Mwangale (now deceased) once boldly predicted that the assassination of Dr Ouko was "a passing cloud". Little did he know that his own moment to meet his maker wasn't too far off and that some sources very close to the Ouko saga would link that death (from what was officially said to be a heart attack) to yet another assassination over the Ouko murder. His name was mentioned the day prior to his death for the first time in the Gor Sunguh parliamentary select committee hearings, which were supposed to shed light on the Ouko murder.

You see the list of people who have died to stop the truth over the Ouko murder ever coming out is rather lengthy and includes several clear cases of poisoning. For example former police commissioner Philip Kilonzo who worked hard to sell a ridiculous suicide theory to Superintendent John Troon was lured away from his beer under the pretext of viewing a cow that somebody wanted to sell to him. When he came back to his drink and sipped I briefly, witnesses say that he made a comment about the drink having some strange taste. Moments later he was dead. No investigations have ever been carried out and nobody has been brought to book over this murder to date.

There are a number of people who must re-examine their consciences on this, the 15th anniversary of Bob's death and start giving Kenyans some answers;

President Mwai Kibaki
The third president of the republic of Kenya must tell Kenyans why his so-called zero tolerance on corruption government has never ventured to issue any statement on the murder of Dr Ouko. This is actually hardly surprising because Kibaki is the same man who saw no evil and said nothing when his close friend, (Tom Mboya the man who drove all the way to Makerere in a beat-up old VW to fetch him to be Kanu's first executive officer in the early 60s) was isolated by the Kenyatta cabinet and then later murdered. So why would he bother about Ouko?

This is especially true when the chief suspects of Ouko's murder, former President Daniel Arap Moi, named by Superintend John Troon as the man who ordered the hit and his cousin, one Nicholas Kipyator Biwott, are warming up to his administration and are set to play a key role in his re-election bid.

Chief Justice Evans Gicheru
The brave judge who headed the Kisumu based Ouko Commission of enquiry who is today the chief justice. He knows more than most people about the legal angles and technicalities of this murder. So why does he not use his good offices to bring up the case and fight for the murders to be brought to book?

Retired President Moi
One of the reasons why the mzee will not quietly go off into retirement is that he fears th ghost of Dr Ouko will come back to haunt him and his family. The truth is that Moi is fairly safe from any Goldenberg prosecution because he signed nothing. But the Ouko murder is a different kettle of fish. More so the terrible secret he does not want Kenyans to know about his character. The real reason why Ouko had to die and the reason why so many other innocent Kenyans whose only mistake was being at the wrong place at the wrong times, also had to die. It is very revealing indeed that Go Sunguh, who headed the parliamentary select committee into the Ouko murder, still routinely receives death threats.

ODM-Kenya's Mutula Kilonzo
The man seeking the blessing of wananchi for high office must first come clean over his continued role in the cover up of the Ouko murder. He should tell Kenyans why he is still Moi's lawyer to date and yet the two are said to be political enemies on different sides of the divide. He should also tell Kenyans more about the threats he has spoken and written against one woman who is probably the only person with the explosive information that is the truth behind the Ouko murder who is still alive. She lives in fear changing her address frequently, somewhere in Europe.

ODM-Kenya's Raila Odinga
Raila promised Christobel Ouko, Dr Ouko's widow that he will not rest until he brings the killers of Ouko to justice. Not only has this not happened, but it is highly unlikely that it will ever happened. The reason is that Raila got himself mixed up in the Molasses plant of which he was at one time joint owner of with Moi. In fact the deal he made with Moi when NDP merged with Kanu was that he would never pursue the issue of Ouko's murder. I, like most Kenyans deeply appreciate the leadership role that Raila has played in helping to expose the corrupt and dishonest Kibaki regime, but gentlemen we are talking about a most gruesome murder here. One that has been covered up for 15 long years and counting.

Mrs Christobel Ouko, my prayers go out to you on this sad day. I am however encouraged in the fact that the final decision maker is God who is always merciful, long suffering but always just and I believe that one day HE will cause the killers of Ouko (who still roam this country, arrogant and free and thoroughly enjoying their ill-gotten blood money) to answer for what they did that fateful day February 13th 1990.

Read the London Declaration, which tells you the whole truth why Robert Ouko was murdered. It was not about corruption.

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