Babu Owino, Johnson Sakaja: From campus politics to the national stage

University leadership propelled the political career of most leaders and politicians in the country.

The most vibrant union that produced leaders is Sonu, which was later scrapped at the University of Nairobi.

The current union at the UoN is the University of Nairobi Students’ Association (UNSA.)

Leaders who served in Sonu include Trade CAS David Osiany, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, Suba MP Gladys Wanga and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.

Others are PLO Lumumba, James Orengo, ANC head of ICT Nathaniel Mongare, Foreign Affairs CAS Ababu Namwamba and Kabando wa Kabando.

Leadership in campus distinguishes them from other leaders in the political scene.

Anthony Manyara, who is currently the Kenya University Students Organisation chairperson, was Sonu chairperson in 2018-19.

When Sonu transitioned to UNSA, he was elected the first UNSA chair since its inception.

He is aspiring to be Meru Senator in 2022.

Apiyo Apiyo, who was Sonu secretary general in 2016-17, has been at the forefront in fighting for youth’s inclusivity.

Currently, he is the Comesa youth ambassador, and he will soon launch his political bid for Kabondo Kasipul constituency.

ANC’S NATHANIEL MONG’ARE

The current ANC head of ICT, Nathaniel Mong’are beat the odds to become the first second-year student to clinch the coveted secretary general position at Moi University.

Mong’are secured the post after garnering 5,800 votes, defeating all his other competitors, who could not attain 500 votes each.

During his tenure, he was privileged to work with former Education CS Jacob Kaimenyi.

He was also appointed National Convener of National Universities Students Organisation (NUSO).

Immediately after campus, he ran for North Mugirango MP on an ODM ticket, but he lost.

In 2022, he is the youngest in the race to run for MP in the same constituency.

Mongare has held three positions in the ANC Party, national youth leader of ANC, ANC spokesperson and current head of ICT and digitisation.

Campus politics taught Mongare to adopt more diplomatic ways of dealing with issues rather than chaos.

“We lost a lot of students through police stray bullets during demonstrations on various issues. That taught me to always give dialogue a chance even before going to the streets,” Mongare said.

On one of the occasions, Mongare could not get the university bus to take his colleague to hospital, and he later succumbed to gunshots.

“I called the dean of students and he told me the university is not an undertaker agency to ferry people to burials,” he said.

The ANC youthful also recounts having escaped several cases of expulsion in school for inciting students.

“The good thing is I used to sit in the university senate and disciplinary committee, so I knew my ways. I was also thrown in Kesses police station many times, I can’t even count,” he said.

Many people would think dealing with university students is easy, but Mongare disputed this assumption.

“You cannot fool them. If you can convince students who are pursuing various degrees to vote for you to win, then it definitely strengthens your leadership skills,” he said.

Mong’are’s first assignment as head of ICT was to oversee the launch of ANC's revamped digital platform this month.

NAIROBI SENATOR JOHNSON SAKAJA

Sakaja’s political career started when he was 27 after he was appointed chairman of The National Alliance (TNA).

This position accorded him the opportunity to sit with former President Mwai Kibaki.

At a young age, his political career took off on a high note when he started working with political bigwigs.

Looking back, he says his dream started at the University of Nairobi, when he was selected to pursue civil engineering but he wanted actuarial science.

He was later elected vice chair of the Actuarial Students Association at UoN and later Sonu Chairperson.

Speaking with the Star during an interview, Sakaja said the spirit of organisation was instilled in him in campus.

“In university leadership, I realised that if you are organised, you can be recognised and once you are recognised, you can make changes without causing issues among students,” he said.

Sakaja, whose light shone when he was elected Nairobi Senator, has proved to be a man of the people.

“It had a big impact on how immediately after that I got into leadership and I got involved in national issues at a very young age,” he said of his campus politics.

He became confident and broke all barriers of fear in him. He recently joined the race for Nairobi governor in 2022. 

“Many times, you would imagine a President or ministers have all these things figured out, but they are human,” he said.

As the capital city’s senator, Sakaja has been on the frontline in defending and sponsoring bills that affect citizens.

They include: Prompt Payment Bill and the Start-Up Bill, which were recently passed in Parliament.

Others are the Pandemic Management and Response Bill and the County Government Retirement Scheme Bill.

“I remember in the revenue debate, I took a firm stand because of those days that I realised you can be given something and stand for it despite intimidation, arrests and looking like you are going against the government,” he said.

His experience as vice-chair and Sonu chair made him dauntless that he stands for what he wants without fear of the aftermath.

“When others are grilled, they decide to give up, but because of being a student leader, it made me fearless. I don’t fear intimidation or prosecution,” he said.

EMBAKASI EAST MP BABU OWINO

Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili, alias Babu Owino, was the last Sonu chairman elected by popular vote at UoN. 

Owino was elected chairman four times: 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The current MP attained more than 18,000 votes, beating Mike Jacobs by more than 16,000 votes.

Owino resigned from Sonu politics after a successful ODM nomination for Embakasi East constituency.

He joined the university in 2008 to study a degree in actuarial science, which he cleared in 2012 with first-class honours.

But it is in 2011 that Owino turned the pages of UoN’s political history.

He became the first self-sponsored student to ascend to the coveted position of Sonu chairman, replacing David Osiany.

In 2013, Babu enrolled for a bachelor of law degree. As expected, he contested and won the April 2014 polls.

Owino attributes his courage and relentless fighting spirit to his experience as three-time Sonu chair.

He has been arrested for mostly public utterances that he makes while defending ODM leader Raila Odinga.

Many times, he also been arrested for leading varsity students in demonstrations.

For instance, he was arrested for words he allegedly uttered towards Moses Kuria and Kimani Ngunjiri.

Babu reportedly threatened that the two leaders would “face dire consequences” over anti-Raila Odinga remarks.

Owino is alleged to have made the statement during a press conference at Orange House.

The Amendment of the Universities Act led to a reduction in the number of times student leaders can be elected.

The system was first implemented in the country in December 2016 after Aden Duale fronted the amendment of the Universities Act 2012.

Owino noted that the amendment might have been an attempt to deter him from vying again, but it’s currently affecting most students.

"[I believe] the move was probably meant to punish me,” Owino told the Star.

Owino is no longer a student but to date, he has unwaveringly supported and defended university students in Parliament.

Babu promised university students to remain patient as he is set to bring back the recently rejected bill after six months as per the law.

The lawmaker promised to sponsor the re-introduced bill in Parliament.