Professor Okoth Okombo: The Laker boy whose star shone bright

On January 21, 2011, I shared a table with Prof Okoth Okombo at the University of Nairobi’s Senior Common Room. This was my first lunch as a don at this prestigious institution. Prof, as I came to refer to him, quickly made acquaintance and when I revealed my name, he asked whether I came from the family of the Oranga that he knew.

Interestingly, Prof was my mother’s senior at Kenyatta College, later Kenyatta University back in the 1970s. Such was the man who would become one of my most revered symbols of inspiration. He had a solid memory that could trace my family name to his college days.