By Peter Ochieng

Former Cabinet Secretary (CS) for education Professor George Omore Magoha will be laid to rest at his Umiru home, Siaya County on Saturday.

A series of activities are already in place prior to the burial. On Thursday, a funeral procession in honour of Magoha took centre stage in Nairobi, with his body being taken to institutions that defined his adult life.

The body was taken to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) and the University of Nairobi (UoN) among other institutions.

He served as KNEC Chairman until 2019 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him CS. Before then, he had served as the University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor for 10 years, from 2005 to 2015.

At KNEC offices, Mahoga’s successor Ezekiel Machogu laid a flower on the hearse carrying his body, while at UoN, lecturers removed their hats and bowed in his honour.

And his Nigerian in-laws mourned him in style. They accompanied his body during the procession with song, drumming and dance. Magoha’s widow, Barbra is a Nigerian.

According to one Paulina George from Nigeria, they don’t mourn an achiever with crying.

“In Nigeria, we don’t mourn an achiever with crying. We have to go with a bang. Back home, we have how we do it – with music, and drumming and dancing. If he was a small child, we would be mourning, but right now we are celebrating his life,” said Paulina.

She added, “Everybody on this earth, you must make an impact, you must help as many people as you can. You must put in your best in everything you do.”

”Life is not a bed or roses, you don’t just come and hide yourself and you want to be celebrated. You must make the world know who you are.”

Magoha who died last month aged 71, is survived by his wife and son, Michael.

He will be buried two weeks after the burial of his younger brother, Richard Nyabera Magoha.