In 2022, a friend of mine—a local journalist at the time—approached me with a request that would lead to a memorable encounter with history. He asked me to connect him with Mabior Garang de Mabior, the son of the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, the founding father of South Sudan. His goal was to interview Mabior about South Sudan’s politics and his growing agricultural enterprise, Tomato Revolution Farm. At the time, Mabior was in Nanyuki, a small town in Laikipia County, recovering from a long medical condition that had once left him bedridden. When I reached out, he responded with warmth and humility, promising to meet us upon his arrival in Nairobi.
A month later, that meeting took place. We met at Valley Arcade in Lavington, where Mabior received me and my two friends with calm grace and quiet confidence. Over breakfast, he spoke openly about his health, his vision for South Sudan, and his deep conviction that agriculture—not oil—must form the foundation of the nation’s future. His words carried the same clarity of thought and purpose that once defined his father’s vision. After the interview mid-morning, Mabior gave us gifts he had brought from Nanyuki: well-packed, processed peppers in small glass containers. He then invited us to visit his farm the following morning, and we gladly accepted his cordial offer.
The next morning, as arranged, we met Mabior again. A car was waiting to take us to his farm in Kiambaa, on the outskirts of Kiambu County, several kilometers from Nairobi. We had a heavy breakfast before departing, during which Mabior shared more of his wisdom, his hopes for the country, and his prayers for lasting stability. When we arrived, we found a place that embodied innovation and purpose—an organized, technology-driven farm with efficient irrigation systems and modern processing equipment inside a well-built greenhouse.
Standing there, surrounded by lush crops and the quiet hum of productivity, I realized this was more than a farm; it was a statement. Mabior’s hands-on approach to agriculture reflected a living legacy—the continuation of his father’s unfulfilled dream of a self-sustaining South Sudan. Every row of crops seemed to whisper a message: true liberation begins when a nation can feed itself.
We also saw how Mabior is deeply rooted in Kenyan soil and history. His ownership of a thriving farm in Kenya is not merely an economic venture but a powerful symbol of belonging. It reflects how the Garang family has long considered Kenya their second home, a bond tracing back to the 1960s.
In the 1960s, Dr. John Garang de Mabior and a friend crossed the Kenyan-Ethiopian border at Moyale. They were arrested by the then-colonial government, sentenced to a few months in jail by a Marsabit court for being in the country illegally, and later transferred to Kamiti Maximum Prison.
Fate, however, had its own plans. Arthur Aggrey Ochwada, a Kenyan politician and deputy chairperson of the Trade Union in 1954, found himself in a political dispute with Tom Mboya, the union’s chairperson and Independent Kenya’s first constitutional affairs minister. On July 14, 1961, Ochwada secretly travelled to Maralal to visit Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who was under house arrest by the colonial government. His mission was to persuade Kenyatta to join KANU instead of the rival KADU, as both parties were scrambling for his support.
When Tom Mboya learned of the secret meeting, he confronted Ochwada, who refused to divulge the details. The situation became tense, and Mboya engineered a smear campaign against Ochwada, alleging he had misused Trade Union funds. Ochwada was promptly arrested and taken to Industrial Area Prison in Nairobi.
While there, Ochwada fell ill and was transferred to Kamiti Prison hospital, where he met John Garang in May 1963. The youthful Garang, hearing of the ‘senior KANU politician,’ approached Ochwada for help. “I was touched by his plight and, realizing that he may have been victimized, I promised to talk to Mzee Jaramogi Oginga Odinga upon my release four months later,” Ochwada said.
Mzee Jaramogi Odinga, then the Minister of Home Affairs—the department overseeing prisons—ordered Garang’s release. Garang moved in with Ochwada at his Nairobi West residence for a year. Later, both Ochwada and Mzee Jaramogi Odinga requested Uganda’s President, Dr. Milton Obote, to accommodate John Garang, as returning directly to Southern Sudan would have meant certain death.
After 42 years of separation, Arthur Aggrey Ochwada and Dr. John Garang met again at the SPLM Office in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, in March 2005. The two old friends were overjoyed to reunite. When Dr. Garang was appointed Sudanese First Vice-President, Ochwada planned a hero’s reception for him in his village, Nakhasiko, in a ceremony known as Okhwingisa Mudala among the Abasamia of the Luhya community. The entire village joined the preparations, considering Dr. Garang their son. Tragically, Garang died on July 30, 2005, just days before his planned visit.
On January 4, 2015, Kenya was awoken by the devastating news of the death of Fidel Odinga, the grandson of Mzee Jaramogi Oginga Odinga—the man who had secured Dr. John Garang’s release from Kamiti in 1963. The night before his death, Fidel had been with Mabior Garang de Mabior at Sankara Hotel until 3 a.m.
To keep the friendship between their families alive, Fidel, the grandson of Jaramogi, and Mabior, the son of John Garang, had become close friends, moving in similar social circles in Nairobi. At Fidel’s funeral in Bondo, Siaya County, on January 17, 2015, Mabior attended and spoke, urging Kenyan politicians not to turn his friend’s burial into a political platform but to use the day solely for mourning.
This history brings us to the present question: Did Mama Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior attend Raila Odinga’s State Funeral as a government delegate or as a sister-in-law to the Odinga family?
For years, the late Dr. John Garang found Kenya to be the safest haven whenever the situation worsened in the South during the war. Kenya became a permanent home where he bore most of his children, bought land, and established businesses, all made possible by the foundation laid by Mzee Jaramogi Oginga and Ochwada in the 1960s. His children, too, have known Kenya as their second and safest home. Therefore, his wife, Mama Rebecca Nyandeng, continues this friendship with the Jaramogi Odinga family, visiting Raila and his family whenever she is in Nairobi.
So, when Mama Rebecca attended Raila’s State Funeral, she did not do so in her capacity as Vice President or a government delegate. She attended out of the deep friendship her late husband established with the Odinga family.
To many South Sudanese, including me, Kenya has been a safe haven for refugees since 1992, thanks in part to the friendship the late Dr. John Garang built with the Odinga family from the 1960s. Beyond humanitarian support, Kenya has been instrumental in South Sudan’s struggle for independence—hosting our leaders who fled the war-torn South and facilitating peace talks with the Sudanese government under ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
For instance, Kenya hosted the IGAD-mediated Naivasha talks that produced the famous Machakos Protocol and a set of agreements on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, security, and Abyei. These culminated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in Naivasha on January 9, 2005, which paved the way for South Sudan’s independence on July 9, 2011. More recently, Kenya once again hosted high-level mediation, including the recent Tumaini Initiative.
In a nutshell, Kenya will remain integral to South Sudan’s political and economic space because it is the country we turn to for political stability. Its role in our nation’s political future is vital. We are thankful that this journey started decades ago and continues to flourish.
Finally, as someone who has lived in Kenya for years, I would like to send my sincere condolences to the family of the Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, the entire Odinga family, and Kenya as a whole. Africa has lost one of its greatest and finest sons—a man whose contributions and impact have left an indelible mark on our lives.
I came face-to-face with the late Raila on March 12, 2022, during the launch of Azimio La Umoja. I left home around 6 a.m. when the Nairobi breeze was intense. The true son of the soil arrived at Kasarani Stadium at 3 p.m. I was fortunate to stand near the podium where he delivered a heartbreaking speech, recalling his torture in the Nyayo House chambers during Moi’s regime. That day, I returned home a happy man. With that, I can say Raila fought well, and may his profound soul rest in eternal peace.
The writer, Tut Kuany Kok, is a political activist, founder of the non-profit organization Goa Dong, and a student at the University of Nairobi. He can be reached via email: tutkuany7@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.