Civil society movement, Kibera the poorer with Okoth’s death

Last week’s tributes by civil society activists provide a sense of the massive contribution the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth made to the country.

On January 20, 2015 Okoth, reinforced by a few of his constituents, joined in bringing down a wall erected around land forming part of the Langata Primary School. The only MP present, Okoth was then targeted by police when they arrived to disperse the demolishers. He escaped to safety, with police in hot pursuit. For the government, the reaction to the demolition proved a public relations disaster as school children were on the receiving end of the teargas. The action at Langata would go on to give birth to ShuleYangu alliance, which carried out a countrywide campaigned against grabbing of public school land.