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"content": "the “sky team” and things like those, the usual things that we discuss with colleagues and friends. After that discussion, I exited the Chamber and went to the office. As I prepared my notes on the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, I watched Sen. Kajwang making a very passionate presentation as he contributed to the debate on the National Police Service (Amendment) Bill. Little did I know that my five minutes chat with him in this Chamber, and my watching a few minutes later on the screen from my office would be my last moments with our brother and our friend. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to say that a few minutes to midnight, that was the next time I heard of Otieno Kajwang, but by that time he was no longer alive. The person who called me, a journalist said: “Could you confirm, we have heard that it is possible Sen. Kajwang has died a few minutes ago.” I said: “No, I was with him today, he was very happy, it is not true.” I called between 20 and 30 Senators last night, starting with my brother here, the Senate Minority Leader. I also called my senior, Sen. Orengo, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. I called literally everybody until I got hold of Sen. Hassan Omar Hassan towards 1.00 a.m. and he was sleeping. He told me: “Fine, I am not aware, but let me confirm.” In a few minutes’ time, he had returned a Short Message Service (SMS) confirming. However, by that time, somebody else had already sent me a text saying: “We are at Mater Hospital, Otieno Kajwang is dead.” I drove there at about 1.00 p.m., not believing this to be true. Only to be confronted with the reality of the departure of our friend, Sen. Otieno Kajwang. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me at this time to say that I am personally affected, as a person, first and foremost, because Sen. Kajwang was a friend. Despite our being in different political parties, Sen. Kajwang had a way of making things look easy; he also had a way of making everything look comical. There are many things we have discussed together. I have come to admire him since we joined this Senate. He is one of the few politicians who have learnt the art of not taking politics into our hearts. I say this because I know Sen. Kajwang was a very strong supporter of the ODM and also of the CORD Coalition. I know he had very strong views about Jubilee, as a Member of the Opposition. Kenyans and my colleagues here will bear me witness that it did not matter how harsh Sen. Otieno Kajwang’s criticism was. He said it with a peculiar smile on his face, even when he was criticizing Jubilee or when he said the harshest of things. He would say it in such a way that he would leave both his supporters and the supporters of his side, and even us who were on the receiving end, laughing. He had a way of distinguishing between political differences, friendship and the other things that we do as human beings. I am not talking about somebody I did not know. I am not trying to talk about somebody I have not interacted with. I have come to admire Sen. Otieno Kajwang, first and foremost, as my senior in the profession. He, alongside Sen. Moses Wetangula, Sen. James Orengo, Sen. Kiraitu Murungi and yourself, Mr. Deputy Speaker, amongst others, are some of the colleagues we have in this House, those of us who are lawyers, who have helped us to appreciate that seniority should not be a bar to creating healthy and fruitful relationships. So, I am here to mourn a friend, colleague and my senior in the profession. I am here to mourn a 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."
}