NAIROBI, Kenya-Siaya Governor James Orengo has paid tribute to veteran pro-democracy figure Julius Maina Kago, describing him as a key participant in Kenya’s Second Liberation following his death at the age of 75.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Orengo said Kago died on Tuesday, July 7, at King David Hospital in Ngong after a long illness, coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the historic Saba Saba movement.
Orengo recounted Kago’s role during the banned November 16, 1991, Kamukunji rally, when he drove opposition leaders, including the late Martin Shikuku, the late Masinde Muliro, Phillip Gachoka and Orengo himself, into Kamukunji Grounds despite a government ban on public assembly.
According to the governor, Kago drove a Toyota Stout pickup belonging to his employer, Hezekiel Gachu, in what became one of the defining moments of Kenya’s struggle for multiparty democracy.
Orengo said the vehicle later came to symbolise resistance against the KANU regime and the fight for political reforms.
He also noted that Kago later acquired his own vehicle after years of hard work, describing it as evidence of his resilience.
“As the sole survivor of those who rode in the back of that historic pickup into the eye of the storm, I feel the weight of his departure deeply,” Orengo said in the statement.
The governor extended his condolences to Kago’s family, friends and former colleagues, describing him as a patriot who risked his safety during Kenya’s push for democratic reforms.
Kago is widely remembered for transporting opposition leaders to the banned Kamukunji rally in November 1991, an event that intensified pressure for the restoration of multiparty democracy in Kenya.