Senator Otieno Kajwang's most memorable and humorous moments in Senate

Homabay, Kenya: One and a half years after the tragic death of Senator Mutula Kilonzo (Makueni), the sudden loss of yet another legal brain - Senator Otieno Kajwang' (Homa Bay) - has stunned many.

As a parliamentary scribe, I was privileged to have short stints covering the legislators, both of whom were eloquent orators who spoke their minds fearlessly and put the country's interests first.

In the Senate, where Kajwang' served as Senator for Homa Bay County for only 20 months, there was never a dull moment when he was present.

His seat, number 59, remained unoccupied yesterday, a stark reality that he is no more. As his fellow senators have a hard time accepting his passing, journalists too, will have to get used to not hearing his unforgettable punch lines, delivered with healthy doses of humour, again.

The curtains have fallen on a combative yet gifted debater who had good mastery of the law and a way of electrifying debates in the House and committee sittings, earning the nickname 'Mapambano'.

Indeed, Kajwang's absence will be deeply felt in the House. Although he rarely crossed over to the Government side, senators from both sides would often mill around his seat for consultations or some chitchat.

Even during tense debates such as the impeachment of Deputy Governor Benard Kiala (Machakos), Kajwang' left the House in stitches when he told governors that divorcing their wives would be easier than doing their duties, stressing that the two were tied at the hip.

He made contributions and stood by his arguments as long as he believed it was the right thing. Even when he had a brush with some Jubilee leaders over his tenure as the Minister for Immigration, he came out fighting alone.

The latest tough stand was the deployment of military personnel in Kapedo, Baringo County, where Kajwang' singlehandedly took on the Government over the matter, stressing that the region was in Kenya and the military was undertaking civilian work, contrary to the law.

Exactly two weeks ago, during a Senate retreat in Mombasa, the media came under harsh criticism from senators who felt they had not had adequate coverage unlike their colleagues in the National Assembly.

Kajwang' offered to give a lecture to his colleagues on how to stand out when it emerged that he enjoyed publicity across media outlets as a result of his style of delivering his outstanding statements.

"It is not what you say that makes news, it is how you say it," he told his colleagues.

He continued: "Let me tell you a story of how to debate and make news. When I was in Maseno School, we participated in a debate titled 'OAU is a toothless bulldog.' After a long boring debate on the topic, my team won when I declared OAU was a toothless bulldog that could bite!"

And with his characteristic humour, Kajwang' told those who were not willing to follow his rules of debate to forget about making headlines because "if you cannot make news, you cannot make news".

While attending a retreat for senators and governors in the Coast region last year, the weather was terrible and for those flying, the landing was a bit rough. Kajwang' made a remark amid laughter from passengers and colleagues aboard the flight: "Being a senator is very sweet. I would not want to pass on now. I still need to stay and enjoy it."