NAIROBI: The photograph of Joseph Odero Jowi in the newspaper obituary pages does not ring a bell to many including his living parliamentary colleagues and present day successors alike. The first Ndhiwa member of parliament is no more but his legacy as a super diplomat is one thing that enemies of history cannot erase from the UN archives.
Jowi died a few days after the celebrations of the Heroes Day presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta but like any other national day, there was no mention of the towering black diplomat who shocked diplomatic colleagues in Stockholm Sweden with a robust campaign for the hosting of the UN specialized agency in Africa and in the third world.
In 1972, UN Permanent Representatives assembled at the Swedish capital to choose the home of the newly founded United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). To the surprise of his peers, Jowi was there to lead a campaign for Kenya to host the secretariat outside traditional homes America and Europe.
The result of the vote shocked even Kenya whose Foreign Minister then, Dr Njoroge Mungai returned home prematurely to avoid an embarrassment that the country would endure in the eyes of the world.
After this feat, Jowi returned home to reclaim the Ndiwa seat he lost in the first post independence general elections in 1969. He suffered unbearable humiliations and harassments in the hands of political rivals and had to quit politics. The shining star was extinguished forever.
Where is Odero Jowi? Diplomat who brought Unep to Nairobi
Ironically, a man of Jowi’s stature and experience failed to get the support of his country for the post of UNCTAD Secretary General. Instead, the Kenyan leadership unsuccessfully floated the name of Julius Gikonyo Kiano, former Minister of Trade as the country’s candidate for the post.
Jowi held many important positions before the appointment as the country’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He was minister in the defunct East African Community and succeeded the late Tom Mboya as minister for Planning and Economic Development.
He was the Principal of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) sponsored Labour College based in Kampala, Uganda. This college trained upcoming trade union leaders in Africa.
Crocodile tears will roll from the cheeks of political leaders at his burial who at the moment know nothing about this prominent Kenyan and African son. Glowing tributes and speeches of how great will be made by no lesser persons than aspirants to the highest office in the land.
If there is any leader that suffered and endured neglect, it was Odero Jow who did not have to win a Nobel Peace Prize to go into the annals of history. In his sunset years and at his death bed, none of the prominent leaders from his community and in the country paid him a visit or contributed towards his treatment. This statement is not an exaggeration but stark reminder of insensitivity. The sloth with which the family receives condolences is living testimony to forgetfulness of the country’s heroes and heroines.
Paul Amina is a freelance Journalist. Email: [email protected]