Flashback As Kenya’s Longest-serving Politician Celebrates 74th Birthday

Siaya Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo. Photo | Directorate of Public Communication, County Government of Siaya

Orengo caps seven decades on earth with a highly impressive resume whose high points include being a member of the immortalized political grouping christened by then powerful Attorney-general Charles Mugane Njonjo as seven bearded sisters. Together with Wasike Ndombi, Mwachengu wa Mwachofi, Abuya Abuya, Chibule wa Tsuma, Koigi wa Wamwere and Lawrence Sifuna, Orengo formed an ex-officio opposition after Daniel arap Moi assumed power in 1978 following the death of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

The maverick young lawyer joined parliament as Ugenya Constituency MP in 1980 and was the most youthful legislator then at the age of 29. Since that time he has been a voice of moral rectitude in the floor of the August House heading legal and constitutional affairs committees as well as serving as Cabinet Minister.

Orengo (in flower shirt) is a common visitor to Kenyan courts both as a lawyer and a prisoner. Photos | Facebook

It’s on record that even during the one-party era of Moi’s dreaded intelligence system which would prey on a politician’s weak points and exploit these to the extent of blackmail, Orengo would come out as one among the very few in Kenya today who do not have skeletons in the closet over a past entangled in corruption.

During the tumultuous period known in Kenya’s history as the post-election violence, James Aggrey Bob Orengo was among the committee of Eminent Persons led by United Nations Secretary-general Koffi Anan that crafted solutions leading to a joint PNU and ODM government.

As a Governor Orengo has been accused of surrounding himself with tenderpreneurs yet the projects accomplished in his regime bespeak of a farsightedness which resonates well with his principals and personalities.

Orengo, has a long history of standing with the Odinga’s beginning with the doyen of Kenya’s opposition politics, Arjulas Ajuma Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and thereafter his sons, Raila and Oburu.

Lately, the shrewd and vastly experienced Orengo has shown open misgivings in the arrangement that his Party ODM has entered into with President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party, loosely calling it a “marriage not sanctioned by a wedding certificate”.

Prophetically, during his tenure as a Senator, Orengo told certain worthy elements in the center of power that government has a nasty habit of preying on its own functionaries and before long that truth has played out repeatedly.

Orengo is both admired and somewhat feared in legal circles where his accomplishments and stature stand tall as a monument of reference and immutable truth. His busy schedule as lawyer, father, governor is spiced up by avid reading which shows openly in his erudite and articulate communication. 

In a political career spanning half a century, James Aggrey Bob Orengo has always made sure he was on the right side of history. Photo | Facebook

At 74, James Aggrey Bob Orengo is exceptionally lucid and intellectually vibrant. His love for the good things in life and a spirit of forgiving has earned him an elevated position not only as a statesman and a beacon of hope for Siaya County, but also a leading light in national politics.

As he celebrates yet another milestone in a life full of courage, grit and fortitude the people of Siaya and the larger Kenyan community wish him and his wife Betty Kaari Murungi, godspeed and the best fortune in this, his newest trip around the sun.

Viva!