Professor Okumu is an author of many published economic and political works.
His first major publication was "Lumumba's Congo: Roots of Conflict" in 1962.
In 2002 he wrote "The African Renaissance: History, Significance and Strategy". Another book on the South African peace process: "The African Option: The Real Story Behind the South African Peace Process in 1994”, unfortunately remains “in progress” at the time of his death.
Born in Siaya County, Kenya on 21st February 1936 to Joram Okumu and Mariam Okello, Professor exhibited extraordinary intelligence from a very young age.
He attended primary school at Ngiya with the late Barack Obama Senior, a relationship that lasted until the latter’s untimely death in 1982.
His secondary education was at Maseno alongside schoolmates such Frederick Odhiambo Osewe. Among his teachers were Odero Jowi and the late Samuel Ayany. His father Joram also placed him in the care of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the internationally renowned African nationalist leader, first Vice President to Kenya and father of Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister of Kenya. The two had served with the Luo Thrift Corporation and he was very much a father figure to Professor, particularly after his own father passed.
After graduating from Maseno in 1955, he worked in Nairobi as a clerk at The Ministry of Works, where he met and married his beloved wife, our mother Rispah Achieng, who was studying midwifery at Maseno Nursing School. It was at this time that he was handpicked by the late Thomas Mboya to be part of the group of students that were part of “Airlift”, an African Students organisation headed by the Kennedy Family aimed at providing education for some of the young bright minds in Kenya. Barack Obama Senior ended up in Hawaii while Professor attended Wesleyan University in Iowa. They were later reunited at Harvard University where Washington graduated with honors in economics. It was at this time that he was able to bring his wife Rispah and oldest daughter Martha Amondi to the United States. His second daughter Dorothy Anyango was born the following year. It was also during this period that he was approached by The UN to travel to Congo and study and report back on the situation in the former French colony. He wrote his first book “Lumumba’s Congo: Roots of Conflict”, clearly depicting his already deep concern for his beloved Africa.
In 1962, after graduating from Harvard, he returned to Kenya and worked as Personal Assistant to the first post-independent President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
He then attended Kings College, Cambridge, where he completed his graduate studies in Political Science. At this time his third and fourth daughters Edith Akinyi and Caroline Achieng were born.
In 1964 Professor returned to Kenya after the country's ndependence and worked with the former East African Railways & Harbours Administration in various senior positions. During this period his fifth and sixth daughters Sara Atieno and Rosslyn Adhiambo were born.
In 1968 he was arrested and spent three years as a political detainee. It was a tumultuous and painful period for all involved, particularly his young wife Rispah who was left to care for 6 little girls ranging from the ages of 3 months to 8 years.
After his release, he was employed by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria where he worked as an International civil servant for 15 years. While there his two boys Isaac Okoth and David Ochieng were born. Many would joke that we had our own UN within our own home!
Public Life
As early as 1956, Professor worked closely for many years with the eminent African nationalist leaders in Kenya for the political emancipation of his country during the Mau Mau rebellion, witnessing the events that would see Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Thomas Mboya, the Kenyan African nationalist and trade union leader, decline to take over government when Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was in detention before eventually ascending to power.
He was the first Cabinet Secretary to the pre-independence coalition government in Kenya between the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), and worked very closely as political and economic advisor to both Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Thomas Mboya.
At the UN he promoted co-operative technical and economic relationships between the countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as the implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action, which was adopted by the African Heads of State and Government of the OAU in Lagos in 1980 for the creation of an African economic community and common market. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution adopting the 1980s as the Industrial Development Decade for Africa with Professor right in the middle of this exciting time.
While at the United Nations he undertook a number of secret diplomatic missions to South Africa on behalf of the Chairman of the Front-Line States, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, to try to persuade the late John Vorster, the then Prime Minister, to release Nelson Mandela and his colleagues from Robben Island Prison. He was involved in secret shuttle diplomacy and negotiations with the then rebel and UDI- Rhodesian Prime Minister, Mr. Ian Smith, for the convening of the Lancaster House Constitutional Conference, the return of exiled political leaders, and the eventual independence of Zimbabwe. He worked closely with the two leading Rhodesian African nationalists of the time, Joshua Nkomo and the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, and was instrumental in bringing leaders of the African National Congress, the National Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party and prominent members of the business community into close political and economic dialogue in particular between 1989 and 1993.
One his most enjoyable times was the year he was appointed Professor of Economics at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria. He loved to teach and was a favorite amongst many of the students. During that year he also served as a Commonwealth Technical Adviser to the Government of Zambia on the development of small-scale industries, and also in its negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the provision of a structural adjustment facility.
Professor’s next chapter was spent in London where he served in various capacities as lecturer and consultant to a number of leading banks in the City of London on their African investment portfolios, and also as Executive Director of the Newick Park Initiative (renamed the Relationship Foundation and Conflict Resolution), an organisation whose main objective was to build up political confidence and trust through informal channels between high level South African and international personalities, particularly from the South African political and economic establishment and legitimate African political leaders and organisations. Professor was instrumental in bringing leaders of the African National Congress, the National Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, and prominent members of the business community into close political and economic dialogue. These meetings were held in secret outside London. The purpose was to demonstrate further how the key and intricate political and constitutional or economic obstacles and issues could be re-examined and addressed in a framework of Biblical and democratic principles (since 80% of the population in South Africa of all races attended church on Sundays, it was perceived that the Bible and the Word of God was the only unifying factor in such a highly politically polarised society). The aim was to contribute to the process of creating a non-racial and united democratic society in South Africa through peaceful means. It was this activity, among others, that played an important preparatory role to the South African constitutional negotiations through CODESA I and CODESA II. The contacts Professor forged during these meetings, as well as his many years of contact with the African National Liberation movements and also personal friendship with Buthelezi, the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, was to prove critical in his mediation in the Southern African political crisis in 1994.
Professor was also a senior consultant and lecturer on African Politics and Economics at the Centre for International Briefing at Farnham Castle in Surrey, England, providing intensive courses for senior managing directors of multinational companies, military attaches, bankers, senior business executives, academicians, missionaries, technical assistance experts and personnel, and medical advisers who were to be posted to Africa and other parts of the world. Mummy would join him in some of the more relaxed sessions where they would entertain their clients in such a comical fashion with the etiquette required for whichever country they were going to. It was beautiful to see the lighter, loving side of the two of them at work.
Professor also gave similar lectures at Cranfield University (formerly Cranfield Institute of Technology), London University (the School of Oriental and African Studies), Cambridge and Oxford Universities in England. This period was the most intellectually productive, providing him with an opportunity to think deeply about issues affecting Africa and its future. He struck very close intellectual relationships with famous British academic historians and political commentators such as Professor Basil Davidson, Shillington and Guy Hunter to mention only a few.
In 1993 he was so happy to return to Kenya where he assumed the role of Africa's foremost economic and political thinker and commentator, but more importantly, peacemaker and international mediator. His close association with the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, particularly after the introduction of multi-party political system in Kenya in 1992, catapulted him anew into Kenya's national politics. He became Ambassador-at-Large and international spokesman for the first major opposition party, the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD). This was one of the major political parties in Kenya founded by Oginga Odinga and Kenneth Matiba, the two leading opposition figures in the country at the time. He was also appointed economic consultant to the African Development Bank and, during the same year, as an economic consultant to the Research and Development Forum for Science-led Development in Africa (RANDFORUM), which was instrumental in establishment of the African Foundation for Research and Development (AFRAND). Furthermore, President Sir Ketumile Masire of Botswana appointed Professor as his special envoy to a number of African countries with special invitation letters to Heads of State and Government to participate in the First Presidential Forum of AFRAND which took place in Gaborone, Botswana in October 1993 and continued in subsequent Presidential fora.
Professor’s passion for mediation never wavered and he was involved with mediation in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Yugoslav civil war when other prominent and high level European diplomats had given up hope on the mediation process. He also played a prominent role in getting the African leaders to sign an agreement in July 1994 in Maputo, Mozambique, establishing the African Foundation for Research and Development (AFRAND) as the continent's leading scientific body for the technological and economic development of Africa. He served as AFRAND's negotiator on Debt for Science Swap (DFSS) between African governments and international creditor institutions. During the same year, he was appointed advisor to the European Co-Chairman of the Global Coalition for Africa by the then Netherlands' Minister for Development, Dr. Jan Pronk, who was responsible for the convening of Maastricht II on Africa's economic and political future.
In 1996, he was appointed an Eminent Advisor and a Special Roving Ambassador for Peace in Africa and the world by a London based peace organisation known as International Alert. This body had the responsibility to bring peace to areas in conflict by trying to combat the systematic violation of human rights inherent in violent conflicts. As a result of this appointment Professor was involved in the facilitation and mediation between the parties to the Sierra Leonean Civil War, namely the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF) and the previous National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), representing the government which met in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on 25 February 1996 for the first time since the conflict started in 1991, and again at Yamoussoukro on 25 March 1996. The former President of Cote d'Ivoire, Konan Bedie, chaired these negotiations. Professor persuaded the leader of RUF, Foday Sankoh, to abandon the idea of the armed struggle and adopt negotiations as a means of ending the conflict. Foday Sankoh immediately agreed to sign a ceasefire agreement with the government and thereby enabled the first democratic elections to take place in Sierra Leone that brought President Tejan Kabbah to power.
In 1996 Professor was requested by the United Nations Development Programme through its Resident Representative in Lusaka, Zambia to undertake a mission there to try to bring about a reconciliation between President Frederick Chiluba and ex-President Kenneth Kaunda and other opposition parties in a conflict which related to the then forthcoming presidential and general elections in the country. The project related to United Nations and UNDP's programme of peace and governance issues in Africa.
In 1997, at the request of many political, business and religious leaders in Kenya, Professor decided to try to help bring about peace in his own country. He embarked on a most successful consultation programme that embraced the entire Kenyan religious community, leaders of the opposition political parties and civil society in the National Peace Convention. The purpose of this convention was to address the problem of ethnic violence that had bedeviled various provinces of Kenya since 1992. This included Rift Valley and Coast Provinces of Kenya. It was also to address the problem of insecurity and police brutality in the country and help bring about a smooth political transition in Kenya by addressing and/or advising on the Constitutional Review Process. The Limuru Conference which took place in July 1998 passed resolutions which was adopted by the whole country at the Uhuru Park public rally in August 1998 supporting his entire efforts. All the political parties, except two, all leaders of the religious community, business community, civil society and one of the biggest mass of the people seen in Kenya attended this rally.
In 1998 Professor was one of the founder members of the African Renaissance Institute in Gaborone, Botswana. He was appointed Director for East and Central Africa and Commissioner for Peace and Governance of the Institute. The African Renaissance Institute was officially inaugurated in Pretoria on 11th October 1999 by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, as well as the Council of Elders of the African Renaissance Institute which comprised of distinguished elder African Statesmen such as Nelson Mandela, Sir Ketumile Masire of Botswana, Toumani Toure of Mali, and Aristide Pereira of the Cape Verde. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, who had just become a member of the Council of Elders was unable to attend because he was seriously ill in a London hospital and died a few days later. Another member who could not be present was Ahmed Benbella, former president of Algeria.
In 1999, and in recognition of his abilities as an international mediator and peacemaker, Professor was appointed Chairman of the All Africa Conference on Traditional Principles of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This conference was organised in cooperation with the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations, African Civil Society and Peace Movements and the British Government's Department for International Development in London.
In 2000 Professor acted as an advisor to Sir Ketumile Masire, the former President of Botswana, who had been appointed facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. He has also been advising the Mediator of the Burundi Peace Process, former South African President Nelson Mandela. Professor was also consulted with most of the time by the Secretary General of the OAU on Africa's ethnic conflicts and was appointed presiding Chairman of the Sudan Consultation Programme, a project undertaken together by the African Renaissance Institute and Relationship Foundation / Conflict Resolution of the United Kingdom chaired by the Rt. Hon. Viscount Brentford. This project was to undertake research with a view to finding a permanent peace settlement of the Sudanese Civil War. As a result of the outstanding success of these informal consultations, which took place in South Africa and UK between the years 2000 and 2002, the Sudanese government's official representatives and their SPLA/SPLM counterparts, as well as all the other major parties in the Sudanese conflict, decided to elevate these consultations to an official status establishing what is known as The Inter-Sudanese Consultation on Peace and justice (ISCOP). In recognition of Professor's successful two year chairmanship of the process, he was overwhelmingly appointed the Chairman of this consultation. The TROIKA countries, namely USA, Britain, Norway and Italy have recognised ISCOP as a fundamental and integral part of the Sudan Peace Process.
In 2004 he was appointed by the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI) in Kampala, Uganda and endorsed by the Government of Uganda to be the Chief Mediator between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda.
In 2006 he was appointed Chief Technical Advisor to the Government of Kenya and the United Nations Development Programme on the Millennium Development Goals.
Professor was also requested by the United Nations Development Programme through its resident representative in Lusaka, Zambia to undertake a mission to that country to try to bring about a reconciliation between president Frederick Chiluba and ex-president Kenneth Kaunda and other opposition parties in a conflict which related to the then forthcoming presidential and general elections there.
Professor mediated talks with Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army but in his later life, and especially after Mummy's passing, led a quiet life at the family estate "Dala Kwe" (Home of Peace), giving the occasional interview and staying in touch with family and close friends all over the world.
The home with the words Dala Kwe (Home of Peace) at the main gate appropriately declare Professor Okumu’s life’s passion. We are reminded of his statement in one of his last interviews where he stated wistfully: “Not only do I cherish peace, I toyed with the idea of building a peace institute. It was not to be, but I did not let go of the dream.”
Known fondly as “The Big Man”, a nickname given to him by his peers in diplomatic circles, he played a pivotal role in brokering peace between Nelson Mandela and Zulu Leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, thus paving the way for the first non-racial democratic elections in South Africa that brought the African National Congress to power. But how did he get involved in South Africa’s peace negotiations and virtually single-handedly save the epoch exercise from collapse and inevitable bloodbath?
Mandela and Buthelezi had long been his friends; the former from Professor’s days as a student of economics at King’s College, Cambridge. He had met Mandela in 1960 in London when Mandela was on his way to Israel to train as a soldier in the wake of the birth of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), the armed wing of ANC, in later years working tirelessly for decades behind the scenes to assist in securing his release.
When peace negotiations between Mandela and Buthelezi failed, and the negotiating team had surrendered and flown out of South Africa in despair, prominent international mediators, including former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, former British Foreign Secretar Lord Peter Carrington, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and American Secretary of State under ex-Presidents Nixon and Ford, Dr Henry Kissinger, who taught Professor at Harvard, suggested Professor Okumu as a last possible option.
When retelling the extraordinary events, Professor recalled cooling his heels on the tarmac at the airport waiting to catch a flight to Nairobi when the plane carrying Buthelezi, who was returning home to Kwazulu Natal after the initial talks collapsed, suddenly developed mechanical problems mid-air. “It was an act of God,” Professor said. With time alone together, Professor managed to convince Buthelezi to return to the negotiation venue with Mandela and drop his Inkatha Freedom Party’s push for an independent Zulu nation that had caused the impasse. He told Buthelezi to think of the bigger picture and how history would treat him harshly if South Africa imploded into a slaughterhouse because of his intransigence. Unimaginably, Buthelezi thawed his stance, paving the way for successful elections won by Mandela’s African National Congress. When Dr Kissinger was later asked how he felt about the entire event he made the now famous statement: “My student has become my teacher”.
Professor loved Mandela, their close friendship recognised by The Mandela Foundation when, as the second person they called upon the icon’s death, Mandela’s wife Graca Machel passed him the message’ “your friend has left us”. Professor was deeply affected and would be saddened whenever he thought about losing his friend, describing Mandela as follows: “May his soul rest in eternal peace. He was my bosom friend, a great man by all descriptions!”
