Political activist and former Nyayo era detainee Onyango Oloo has died, his sister Ruth Oloo confirmed on Monday.
Mr Oloo, the founder of Jukwaa Political blog, died in Nakuru on Sunday evening where he had gone to pick copies of Miguna Miguna's latest book, Treason.
“Please hold our hands in this time of need and give OO (Onyango Oloo) a befitting send off. Thank you so much for your love and support. Unfortunately the Miguna books that brought him here were never to reach him.
"To any he might have rubbed the wrong way, we ask for forgiveness on his behalf,” the sister wrote in an email sent to friends and activists.
Dozens of activists led by lawyer Cyprian Nyamwamu have already paid tributes to him, terming him a courageous man who never surrendered.
“Onyango Oloo is no more. Very sad turn of events in the last two years for my brother. A true soldier of justice,” activist Cyprian Nyamwamu wrote.
Recently, Mr Oloo retreated to his Kakamega home after revealing his HIV positive status. He however, continued with his activism through various forums.
In 1982, he was arrested after being associated with foiled Air Force coup. He was sentenced for 15 years in jail. However, he would be released later before going for exile in Tanzania and Canada.
The others were Titus Adungosi (who later died in prison), Jeff Mwangi, Ongele Opala, Muga K’Olale , Wahinya Bore, Paddy Onyango, Joseph Hongo, Maurice Adongo Ogony, Onyango C. A.Oginga Ogego, Francis Kinyua, Thomas Mutuse and Johnstone Simiyu.
By the time of his arrest, Mr Oloo was a first year history student at the University of Nairobi. He was sentenced on November 1, 1982 to 15 years in prison, five for each count he was convicted of, namely: being in possession of subversive literature and two counts of subversion. The sentences ran concurrently.
“The most memorable of the student trials was that of a University of Nairobi freshman Onyango Oloo, who eventually defended himself in court, having rejected plea bargains for a short sentence from his attorney Richard Kwach on the principled bases that he was not guilty of any crime. Sixty-seven other students were held in remand prison from August 1982 until March 1983,” the book Ethnicity and Democracy in Africa notes.