Have you ever wondered what the national political narrative would have been had the nation's first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga accepted the leadership of the nation as was proposed by the colonialists?
Oginga blatantly turned down an offer by the then Kenyan Governor Sir Patrick Renison to take over as the nation's first Premier on the eve of independence, throwing his weight behind Jomo Kenyatta who was under detention in Lodwar.
The event occurred in Government House (now Statehouse) in Nairobi in 1960, where Oginga rejected the lifetime opportunity that would have seen him ascend to the presidency 4 years later.
''If I accept your offer, I will be seen as a traitor to my people. The British cannot elect me leader to my people … Kenyatta is around, just here in Lodwar. Release him and allow him to lead us, he is already our choice,'' he told the surprised Governor as was quoted by the Nation.
Kenyatta was released soon afterwards, took over the post according to Oginga's wish on June 1 1963 before becoming President a year later, with Oginga right under him as his deputy.
The two, however, turned into foes over the next few years, with Oginga resigning from his post in 1966 over ideological differences with the President, marking the start of his woes in the hands of Kenyatta, including detentions and political frustrations.
He died on January 20 1994 aged 82.
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