Tim Kamuzu Banda And Lucas Barasa
30 January 2008
Nairobi — This is how friends and colleagues described 39-year-old Melitus Mugabe Were who was shot dead in Nairobi yesterday.
Mr Were, a former journalist, surprised many when he trounced political giants to bag the Embakasi parliamentary seat on an ODM ticket. He beat former Nairobi political kingpin David Mwenje and a former Nairobi mayor John Ndirangu. Mr Were would only serve for a month.
"He achieved a lot for Dandora people including putting up bridges and was developing a stadium for the youth," said former Nairobi mayor Dick Wathika who is the Makadara MP. Mr Were, a Communications graduate from an Italian university, served as a councillor for Dandora ward between 2002 and 2007.
He was Mr Wathika's running mate for the Nairobi mayoral seat in 2003 but they lost narrowly to a group led by Mr Joe Aketch. Disadvantaged children
Mr Wathika said he had lost one of his best friends and a colleague. "He was principled and once he believed in something, he stood by it," Mr Wathika said. The former mayor said the Embakasi MP responded well in case of any crisis or whenever his help was required in the city. "He always wanted to assist irrespective of tribe or any other affiliation," he said, noting that Mr Were had established a rehabilitation centre for orphans and other disadvantaged children in Embakasi.
The orphanage attracted sponsors from Germany through Mr Were's initiative.
Mr Wathika said the MP was a good team player and supported motions at council aimed at helping improve lives of Nairobi residents. "It is unfortunate that he has died. I feel deeply affected," Mr Wathika said.
Describing Mr Were as a staunch Christian who extolled Catholic ideals. Mr Were's former classmate in Italy, Mr Martin Munyua, expressed shock over the killing. "He was a young soul so full of ideas and one who believed in true democracy and a new Kenya," said Mr Munyua.
Mr Wathika said he last met him last week during training of MPs on use of Constituency Development Fund at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.
"We sat together and agreed to develop a common agenda for youth of Nairobi irrespective of their background," Mr Wathika said. He said Mr Were wanted quick solution to current political turmoil in the country so that citizens can resume their development activities.
Mr Were, Mr Wathika said, had business interests in Kenya and abroad including Italy where he is reported to own a house.
In an interview with the Nation after winning the December 27 polls, Mr Were said many people who represented the city were not born there and did not understand problems facing its residents. "People voted for me in because I am one of them, having been born and bred in the same slums as them," he said.
Mr Were hailed from a polygamous family. His father who hails from Western Province had three wives and the MP was the first-born of the third.
He moved into Dandora in 1979 and lived with his mother.
According to Mr Were, his mother brewed and sold a chang'aa and busaa (alcoholic drinks) for survival and that is what saw him through primary and secondary schooling.
Upon completion of his schooling, he worked with a few youth groups before he landed a scholarship to study in Italy. He lived in Italy for close to 16 years where he studied Communications at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome) from 1995 to 1998. After completing his degree, he worked as a freelance journalist contributing to a number of newspapers in Italy.
He married two wives: An Italian and a Kenyan. With his Italian wife, they started exporting curios from East Africa to Germany. The mother of four runs the business to date. Upon his return to the country from Italy, he ventured into politics with the aim of making a difference in the Dandora community in which he was brought up.
Mr Were joined Mr Raila Odinga's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) through which he got a Narc ticket to contest the Dandora civic ward in the 2002 General Elections, which he won.
As a councillor, he helped close to 200 young people from Dandora to pursue education in Italy. This was possible through an exchange programme that he forged with affiliate colleges of his former university. Mr Were is survived by three sons and two daughters.
He was among youthful candidates including Cherengany's David Kutuny, Keiyo South's Jonathan Kiptanui, Cecil Mbarire (Runyenjes) and Nderitu Muriithi (Laikipia West) who made it to 10th Parliament.
Embakasi residents interviewed by the Nation said they voted for Mr Were due to his development record. "Our hope was on Were. He was our only saviour when it comes to getting better infrastructure, services and jobs. We have now been left like orphans," said Mr Alfred Makori, a tailor in Embakasi.
Mr Were's seat was crucial for ODM over its fight with PNU for the control of the city politics.
The Orange party won the Embakasi, Westlands, Starehe, Kasarani and Langata parliamentary seats in last year's polls while PNU secured Dagoretti and Makadara. The Electoral Commission of Kenya nullified results for the Kamukunji parliamentary seat.
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