Ex-MP who stepped down for Jaramogi passes away

Kisumu, Kenya: Former Bondo MP Hezekiah Ochieng Ougo, known for his bold decision to stand down so that Jaramogi Oginga Odinga could be elected to Parliament in 1980, is dead.

Mr Ougo took his last bow at 4am Tuesday while being treated in the Intensive Care Unit of Kisumu's Avenue Hospital where he had been admitted for three days.

Ougo's show of immense respect and reverence for Jaramogi proved an anti-climax when the latter was banned from contesting the subsequent by-election for referring to founding President Jomo Kenyatta as a land grabber at a function in Mombasa.

That paved the way for William Odongo Omamo, whom Ougo had defeated, to sneak back into Parliament.

Ougo retired from active politics to lead a quiet life at his Asembo home in Siaya County. He was a member of the Luo Council of Elders in his twilight years.

Ougo was the principal of Maranda Intermediate School and in 1965 was moved to become the first African principal of Siriba Teachers College.

He was later transferred to Allidina Visram School in Mombasa then Friends School, Kamusinga.