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{
    "id": 494702,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/494702/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 150,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "its leadership felt that it was befitting to give Prof. Mazrui the full honour. There were loud murmurs as to why people of that highest apex of leadership did not see the need to come to that funeral. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, that notwithstanding, whether they came to the funeral or not, his work and achievements over the years say it all. That is what Prof. Mazrui fought for many years. I recall some of the private conversations I had with him about the stereotyping of the people of the coast region as being a lazy, laid back and a bunch of under-achievers. That is why in every forum that he stood, he spoke of his coastal heritage, Mombasa background and more precisely about Kibokoni where we were all born. All of you have said so many great things about him, but I knew him quite personally because I was born in that household too because, maternally, my mother was a cousin to him. That said and done, I remember one of the final conversations I had with him was about nation state. I recall what Prof. Yash Pal Ghai said at the advent of Kenya’s Independence. The concern about building a state based on ethnicity; that is, an ethno state. Prof. Ghai even said it during Prof. Mazrui’s memorial. I think he was fairly very kind to the former President Kibaki. I recall his very kind remarks telling me that you, probably, will never see a Head of State of this nature. He called him Africa’s political gentleman. Just one or two years into this regime, I believe it is difficult to find another Kibaki in the foreseeable future. Why was he very cordial about Kibaki? He felt that as a President, he recognized his excellence in academia. His first substantive appointment in the field of academia that he got in his own country was given by former President Kibaki. He did his best to discharge that responsibility. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Prof. Ali Mazrui was a man full of humour. His humour transcended most of our expectations. Outside the public gallery, he would be a very easy. He was down to earth kind of a person. He was very amiable and very focused in terms of encouraging young people to pursue their education with excellence. I recall when I was chased from the university, he was really interested that I join one of the universities in the USA so that I could be away from the constant humiliation and that my study programme could not be interrupted adversely. However, I believe at that time, I was too focused on studying law. I did not want to do the Jurist Doctorate degree which would have meant that I first do a basic degree. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is befitting to erect a monument to honour Prof. Ali Mazrui. In Mombasa, the leadership is talking of the possibility of starting an Ali Mazrui Institute of Government or political science or as faculty in one of the existing institutions because that is what would be befitting of his legacy and not necessarily to erect a monument or name a road after him which is a very standard practice. We should do something which will capture what he really stood for and lived for. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as we eulogize Prof. Mazrui, let us not have the hypocrisy to talk about his great notions; the things he represented and yet did the reverse of what he stood for. Therefore, as we eulogize Prof. Mazrui and say all these nice things about him, I think what would be the greatest challenge to all of us to ensure that we live his legacy. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}