Those Before Me.

Agonga Otitimah met me at a Lecture Theatre down in FASS. Actually the Complex had not been completed at the time and we only had the adjacent Silo-like halls for lectures. Cartography, Geomophorlogy, Operations Research and Systems Analytics had their classes taken down their at the sprawling Egerton grazing grassland. It was a pretty distance of about a km from Siaya 4.

So I 'strayed' into this class of stone-age-rocks and guess who walks in; and near Stone-age-man. Agonga Otitimah appeared rugged and unkempt on that first day in such an amazing fashion. To stamp his entry in the minds of all Dr Agonga Otitimah popped up a cigarette from his shirt pocket for a stick of chalk to an uproar of laughter.

We did a lot with Dr Otitimah including rocking sites around the country - Kariandusi, Suswa, Kit Mikai and the Crying Stone of Kakamega. Just like the other superb buddies I have had, Dr Otitimah became a good friend of mine and we had a cordial lecturer-student relationship. Only that I would not gone to solidify the fluvial geomorphological phenomena he had introduced me.

I stumbled on Dr Otitimah's photograph in the obituary columns sometimes just before 2007 General Elections. May God spare his soul enough kindness to last.

Silas Owiti Osodo

Perhaps a man whose story will never be fully told. One man whose life could not go further than it went. Silas was a quiet, humble and peaceful fellow with a lot of moderation. He had great and deep belief in God and he dedicated so much time and resources including family to the glory of God. A very good man. Story is told that he was born in difficult circumstances and had very rough health in his earlier years. His parents had been previously unsuccessful with his earlier siblings who had passed on as they came. So much prayer successfully determined that Silas survived his poor health to become the best ever cousin I was privileged to have and interact.

Silas went to school after me but we caught up with each other when we worked at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. After his high school education he went to Mombasa where he stayed with the Hon Okundis and studied Accounts at the Mombasa Polytechnic.

When I got my first job and my Big Brother Moses called me from Mombasa saying he had found some shoes that he thought would be great for me it was Silas who lent me the money I paid for them. He just gave me without conditions at all. I was later to pay him at my comfort, leisure and pleasure. It recounted a lot of what was later to further our close ties, friendship and family.
His friends who were outside the Kochia circles were basically his church colleagues. I knew them and they knew me. That is why even though Silas decided to wed Lillian in 1995, and even though I thought he was young and unnecessarily rushing into marriage, I was blessed to grace their first anniversary at their home in Umoja. It was as exclusive as it could be and we both (each) gave a speech. Let me also mention belatedly and with no particular consideration attached that Silas was a great friend of Emily and the shared a lot in confidence.

So this Saturday afternoon Eric Ayieko and I went to see Silas at his house. He had been in ill health for a while and been on and off hospital. He had weakened quite a lot but since he had been through that before we believed he would come off it. He was such a strong willed and charactered man that he came out of his bedroom on his own and sat down with us and drank with us. We chatted and just talked.

Then Silas suddenly started convulsing. We did not quite know what was happening but it was almost true that he was kicking away. A very horrifying moment it was for us. We rushed him to the Aga Khan Hospital where he spent two weeks then got well enough to go back home he was well for a week or so before this Saturday afternoon when they called me that Silas had passed on in his house.

We took his body to the Chiromo Memorial home.