Why the Tenth Parliament Will Miss Orwa Ojode and George Saitoti

When Professor Saitoti (left) succumbed to the demands, he did it with a poise characteristic of his comely mien.

Immediately after, some of those named complained of the casual way he appeared to have done it: “you told me to table the names, Mr. Speaker, and that’s exactly what I have done, Mr. Speaker,” the minister defended himself then.

This is how the two managed to steer the, obviously, enormous responsibility of the Internal Security Ministry.

The vital role of the departed minister and his assistant was felt by many. The current parliament will miss two of its most experienced lieutenants.

Mr. Moses Wetangula, who is also the trade minister, captured this when he said: “you couldn't tell who the minister was and who the assistant…was.”

They formed a formidable team. These two.

To followers of parliamentary business, the live proceedings of parliament provide an opportunity to monitor how their leaders transact among themselves.

It is evident, from the proceedings, that only a handful of ministries are active. An overwhelming majority of the, forty odd, ministries exist only for political reasons unique to the country. The internal security ministry certainly is one of the handful.

So when reports filtered about their deaths in a helicopter crash, the usually slow paced Sunday morning atmosphere, suddenly ground to a halt.

Media houses were caught unaware. There appeared to be a rush to prepare the bios of the two.

The social media was awash with rumors and counter rumors. One claimed that the Permanent secretary was also involved; another claimed that the duo had clashed a day before but has been shielded from the public knowledge to avoid panic.

The looming personae of these two in the public had almost made them appear immortal. Fellow leaders cancelled all their engagements. Three days of national mourning followed.

May the Lord rest the souls of the two leaders and grant their families the grace to soldier on in this journey of life.

Despite the series of misfortunes the country has undergone since the dawn of what has come to be referred as second liberation, the tragic demise of these two public servants is too sad. It seems like a new series of a dreadful nightmare that was thought to have vanished.