By Anderson Ojwang
“For Raila Amolo Odinga’s team. It was a calling. A calling to be part of the struggle. A calling to sacrifice and give your all to the mission. A calling to face death and enemy head on. A calling to bite the bullet and if you survived, you wake up again tomorrow to continue from where you left.
We saw gallants fall by the roadside to the bullets, machetes and knives stabs those never dampened our hearts. The resolve was so strong that nothing was going stop us, if anything it fired us up to fight harder. We carried our pain and scars proudly as a mark of honor for the struggle of a better Kenya. A struggle which was organic and voluntary.
It was the struggle for a better Kenya. A prosperous county. Kenya our motherland. Raila was our commander. We obeyed and followed without questioning. The Raila I knew.
The battle for Nyanza
After the death of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Nyanza became the battle front. The first battle zone was between the current Siaya Governor James Orengo and Raila.
Orengo had a clique of reporters in our Kisumu Bureau allied to him while I remained Raila’s point man. While my colleagues covered Orengo, I stuck with Raila, and our friendship blossomed and I grew the brand.
One Friday, the feared and renown brown pick up full of youths drove and parked outside our Standard Tivoli office.
The presence of that vehicle could send shivers across one’s spines; they had been enraged by what they termed as negative reporting against Raila and support for Orengo.
Some of my colleagues had gone for lunch while other had disappeared at the site of the vehicle.
In the office, I remained with the office Messenger the late Mary Omari. When they entered the office, Mary panicked but I walked over from my workstation and welcomed them.
The rough and blood shot eyes softened when they saw me, and we engaged in a short conversation and they left. That was the first and last time, they ever visited and threatened a Standard journalist.
During the battle for the control of Nyanza, between Orengo, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyongo, former Rangwe MP Dr Shem Ochuodho and former Foreign Affairs Minister Raphael Tuju against Raila, I would get advance intelligence reports on the later schedule.
I would be at the venue ahead of Raila’s arrival, mingle with the public, gather intelligence and get the feelings of the crowd.
I became part of the crowd, and few would identify me as a journalist. Most people knew my name but could not put a face to the name.
Once Raila has arrived at the venue and speeches were nearing climax, I would walk to the main dais. I had unfettered access to Jakom. I would stand close to him and within three minutes I would have passed over the message and disappeared back to the thin air.
The 2005 Referendum and the attack
In the 2005 referendum, the government wing which supported the Banana symbol for the constitutional draft were enraged by the kind of publicity the orange team were receiving courtesy of my headline stories.
One Sunday, the team was in Kakamega and in the convoy were Vice President Moody Awori, Canine minister Dr Mukhisa Kiituyi, Musikari Kombo among other too government officials and leaders from the region.
I had a headline story how the team received Orange salute in Kakamega. The next day, Monday, the team had town hall meeting in one of the hotels in Kakamega.
I was assigned to cover that function. Little did I know that, it had been leaked to the banana team that “Raila’s reporter had been sent to the function.”
We arrived at the function by 9.00pm. Western leaders were so enraged by the newspaper report, and they kept lamenting throughout the session.
Outside, goons had been dispatched to look for Anderson Ojwang. They kept looking and trying to identify who this Ojwang was. This was until 3.00pm, that one of my colleagues sold me out.
I saw youths charging, my colleagues took off for cover, while KTN cameraman Baraka Karama stood and recorded the unfolded event.
For those hours, I was at the facility, I had learnt various escape routes. And when they attacked, I didn’t give them the chance to harm me. I escaped as they followed me in tow baying for my blood. I lost them in a thicket, sneaked back into the main road, walked for some kilometers and boarded a matatu to Kakamega town.
My colleagues from Nation team led by John Oywa rescued and picked me up from the town and on the way Raila kept calling. Thuon, jogi ofuwo manade. Ok an ema gigoya. Wabiro rakore kodgi. (The Brave, those people are stupid. They should have faced me. We shall meet them), Indeed we met them.
My Accident
After I got an accident and was admitted at Aga Khan hospital in early 2006. Raila had travelled to the USA. When he returned, he flew to Kisumu. Outside the hospital and the Kisumu Boys -Busia road was teeming with a huge crowd. Kisumu came to a standstill. Ojwang was sick and Jakom had gone to see him.
My doctor, Dr Obondi Otieno and the nurse came to my room and asked if I would allow Raila to visit me. Dr Obondi prepared and told me that I should remain lying flat on the bed because any slight moment may interfere with my spine.
When Raila entered the room and our eyes locked he said “thuon chung malo wadhi kedo, donge ingeyo ni wan gi lweny. chungi (The brave wake up we are going to the battle. You know we have the battle ahead)
Mysteriously, I woke up from the bed, removed the syringes and walked and greeted Raila Jakom, ategno wadhi lweny (jakom, I am fine, we are going back to the battle).”
After two days, I was discharged and went back to Eldoret, my workstation.
The making of Arap Mibey
When I was transferred to Eldoret bureau in 2005, I told Raila about it, He told me Thuon dhi mak piny (The brave go and conquer).
In Eldoret, I was able to link up with opinion, Edlers and church leaders from the Kalenjin community and Raila support base.
The late Ker Riaga Ogalo would visit to Eldoret to meet with the Kalenjin Elders to negotiate Luo-Kalenjin alliance. I would attend some of those meetings and be briefed effectively to articulate and implement.
After the negotiations had been reached and Raila was to be installed as Kalenjin elder. I accompanied the elders and Raila and invited my colleagues to the function. I wrote a story about the naming of Raila as Arap Mibey and the entire Kalenjin community supported Raila to a man.
The African Mirror magazine
My friend the late Mwalimu Paul Agali Otula and I held a breakfast meeting with Raila at his Kisumu home when he was the prime minister over our plan to launch a magazine. The African Mirror. He challenged us. I hope you will succeed where I failed. And Indeed, Raila brought other top dignitaries including the late William Ole Ntimama during the launch of the Magazine at Serena Hotel. The magazine was on the streets for three years before it folded. But the dream is still strong and one day, I will become the country’s media mogul.
The famous Luhya prophesy and vote block
Ahead of the 2007, General Elections, Luhya Votes specifically Bukusu community was getting trickier.
One evening, during an evening sitting, my friend Pius Wekesi provoked a thought in me about the famous prophesy of Dini Ya Masamba sect leader Elijah Masinde, prophesy that Luhya leadership will come through the lake.
In my excitement, I sneaked out from my friend and, I called Raila. I told him, Jakom, now we can get the Luhya votes. I explained to him, and he told me thuon, mano ber. Tim kamano. (The brave, that is good. Do it).
The next day, I was in Bungoma meeting the Luhya council of elder Mzee Watta over the story. And indeed, the story changed the political direction of Luhya land and that is how Raila became significant Luhya political player.
The battle for ODM ticket
The battle for the ODM certificate took an interesting turn after the 2005 referendum and ahead of 2007 elections, Kalonzo Musyoka was claiming the ownership of the party while Raila and his team including William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi among others were too claiming the party after a fall out.
The party had been registered in the name of the driver and other office employees at the orange secretariat.
One man who held the key to the party and had the certificate was one Chepkonga. Chepkonga had gone back to his rural village of Marakwet. He could not be reached. Kalonzo team and Raila’s were all looking for him. I was tasked with others including Ywaya and others to track him and hand him over to Nyong’o. I coordinated the mission.
After, we were able to track him, Ywaya and John Chebii, another gallant warrior from North Rift found him at his Samalat home in Marakwet.
Once he was in Eldoret, I told Raila of the development and Ywaya and the team took him to Kisumu before they proceeded to Nairobi, where he signed and handed over the certificate to Nyong’o. Kalonzo only saw the story as breaking news on TV.
My 2017 parliamentary ambition
In 2017, I had expressed strong interest for Karachuonyo parliamentary seat. I approached him and expressed my ambition. He asked me thuon ilal kune, asewinjo kaka itungo piny, Gori agoya, ibiro yudo gima idwaro,. Kata Dr Adhu ne Onyisa chon ni wuod omera ni Chieng moro adwaro mondo okaw kara (The brave, I have heard what you are doing on the ground. Continue the fight, you will get what you want. Even you uncle the late Dr Adhu Awiti had told me that he would want to see you inherit the seat).
For Raila Odinga I Knew, there was so much that ran deep and have remained buried in our hearts. The battle, the pain and the sacrifice. The scars and the moments. The brand and the joy of the struggle.
For my fellow fighters, Fujo, Ywaya, Odima Abuya, Tom, George Oduor, James Keyi, Dave Arunga, Osiga, Ochieng Sino Jakathomo, John Chebii, Major Rtd Kipchumba and Kasenge, among others, the Kings lives forever. One day, we shall conquer. The spirit is still strong. In the king we were and united. Rest in peace Jakom. Dhi gi kwe okew gi Oneya. The Raila Odinga I knew. One day, I write about to tell, the story.”
