For many years now, there has been a lot of PS Hezekiah Oyugi bashing in Luo politics but today Dr. Oburu Odinga, in eulogizing the late Dalmas Otieno, stated how Ps Oyugi and Dalmas OTIENO helped them get a loan for their gas cylinder company, and, in addition, helped facilitate the release of Raila Odinga from detention.
There are many things PS Oyugi did quietly in Luo Nyanza which reveals the true nature of the man as a great pro-Luo government official at a time the Luo were unnecessarily rebellious.
There was absolutely no reason for the Luo to fall out with Moi in post-1978, a fallout that was ingineered by Kikuyus and which largely benefitted Kikuyus.
By the time Moi came to power, the Luo had been decimated by GEMA under Kenyatta. Moi was quickly surrounded by the same GEMA power cabals who had driven Luos to the periphery, and who demanded the quo to not lose its status.
Moi’s first act in power was to release political prisoners, most of whom were Luos who’d been languishing in prisons under Jomo, detained without trial or after sham trials. These early presidential actions of Moi rattled GEMA, who conjured new ploys to remove him, culminating in the 1982 coup attempt.
In the end, sadly, Junior Luo airmen were hanged for crimes that had been planned by the higher ups of Kenya Airforce, by then the most indisciplined military formation of the time, stuffed with top officials (GEMA) who still suffered the hangovers of the Kenyatta era.
The point here is that when Oyugi emerged in the post-1982 coup environment, the most unhappy group were the GEMA coup failures who had now made the coup about Luos.
The same ploy nearly repeated itself in 2024 when Luos were again required to help topple a regime after a GEMA-Kalenjin fallout despite the fact that Luos upto the time of Gachagua-Ruto fallout were still eking in the fringes.
Had Luos declined the invitation by Njonjo and others in the 1980s to join them in removing their puppet (in giving Moi power they’d claimed he was a ‘passing cloud’) who was now sadly entrenching, that decade would have been more edifying.
This generation of Luos — the most educated — have studied history and with sons of the soil like Plot Otwist (me) will not allow the repeat of the past mistakes.
We will never be baited to wars not our own. Neither will we join political formations built on quicksand.
First, there will be no joining atwara. The Luo-Kikuyu political union must be resisted. It is a dead end. The Kikuyu must first de-oath.
Second, there will be no antagonizing President Ruto. Whatever scruples we may hold we will sort them in dialogue.
Third, the Luo joined the Ruto regime last. We went in there and found everybody was in there. We have decided that if for whatever reason the regime will collapse, we will be dug out of its rubble.
We will not leave. Kata gikithni, kata gindekni. Onge ringo, onge wuokie kendo onge kun.
In conclusion, we owe it to the few sons of the soil who stay in government even when we all exit.
Sometimes, it is them we fall back on when we need licenses or jobs.
By Seth aka Plot Otwist.
