The Committee that organized the Maggero memorial in Stockholm a few weeks ago has been dissolved. The dissolution took place at a meeting that was Chaired by the Committee’s Chairperson Mr. Jared Aroka. The meeting was held at Wananchi Pavillion.
Mr. Aroka thanked all Kenyans, friends and sympathizers who attended the function. The Committee observed that the huge attendance at the function was a clear demonstration that Kenyans and friends had all been concerned about events that surrounded Maggero’s death.
Key issues included the failure of Maggero’s Swedish family to announce the Mzee’s death, the refusal by the family to allow Maggero’s family in Kenya from attending the funeral, refusal by the family to allow Kenyans to view Maggero’s body, the cremation of Maggero’s body without representation fron Maggero’s family in Kenya and the issue of Kenyans mourning the late Maggero in their own way. Maggero’s Swedish family was opposed to the Kenyan memorial function although they did not try to disrupt it.
The event was bankrolled by the Committee who got their money back. The Committee shared the losses with Dr. Otieno Wariaro playing a prominent role to sort out the losses. Apart from the losses, there were no major outstanding cases that needed deliberation. Dr. Wariaro, who was one of Maggero’s best friend and confidant, told Kenyans during the memorial that he did not believe that Maggero wanted to be cremated. In his contacts with KSB, Dr. Wariaro maintained that Maggero told him that he wanted to be buried next to his mother if he died.
Mr. Aroka told KSB that the debate that was generated following Maggero’s death was healthy. He said that Kenyans who were opposed to the memorial were in the minority and congratulated Kenyans and all those who have since come up to air their views on the Maggero issue especially on the controversial question of cremation.
Mr. Aroka said that the Maggero committee had completed its mandate and thanked everybody who was involved in ensuring that the late Maggero was also mourned by Kenyans who loved him very much.
The Committee hoped that Maggero’s Swedish family will continue with the healing process and to use memories of the Kenyan memorial as a source of reflection and better inter-cultural understanding especially between the Swedish and Kenyan cultural practices.
Those who sat in the Committee were: Mr. Jared Aroka, Mr. Martin Ngatia, Mrs Hellen Opwapo, Mrs Caroline Ayodo, Mr. Okoth Osewe, Dr. Otieno Wariaro, Dr. Jared Odero, Mr. Antony Adiwa, Mr. Laban Mberi and Mr. Osore Ondusye.
The Committee encouraged Maggero’s family not to look at the Kenya Memorial as an act of rebellion but as a show that Kenyans genuinely loved Maggero. The Committee also thanked KSB for having raised the issue forcefully and for having given it the coverage it deserved.
KSB took much of the heat as temperatures climbed to boiling point during the debate. However, much of the fire directed at KSB began to subside drastically as a troop of Kenyans emerged to take positions during the debate and to show that the Maggero issue was not a KSB matter but a crisis in which majority of Kenyans were concerned about.
By the time the Maggero memorial kicked off, two blogs that had been set up to fight KSB and to taint the names of KSB contributors had gone dead. Debate articles and video clips on the Maggero issue have been archived at the KSB Files.
Okoth Osewe
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