CS Owalo Revisits Phone Call To Ruto Moments After Magoha's Death

Information, Communication & Technology, and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo has revealed details of the immediate aftermath of the announcement of the death of former Education CS, Prof George Magoha, on Tuesday, January 24.

While addressing mourners in Siaya at Magoha's burial on Saturday, February 11, Owalo revealed that he got wind of reports building up on social media of the former CS's demise before he was alerted by one of his staff on the same.

Initially, Owalo believed that it was Magoha's brother, Prof Richard Nyabera Magoha, who had passed away in the United States (US) on December 6, 2022, before he called one of his doctors who confirmed the unfortunate breaking news.

The late former Education CS, George Magoha with President William Ruto. /TWITTER

"Indeed, when reports circulated in the social media that Prof Magoha had passed on, and I was alerted by one of the staff in my office. I thought it was in reference to the brother, but those reports persisted.

"So I did call Dr Aluoch, who actually confirmed to me that Prof Magoha had passed on about five minutes before then," he addressed.

Afterwards, he reached out to President William Ruto via text to report on the same as he was away on international duties, and President Ruto called him back minutes later to confirm, notably with shock as it came barely two weeks from their meeting at State House.

"Subsequently I sent a text message to President William Ruto who was out of the country, to alert him of Prof Magoha's death and he called me back within a couple of minutes to confirm if it was true that Prof Magoha had actually passed on because it was barely two weeks when we were with him at State House, so I confirmed the same to him and he instructed me to reach out to the Deputy President on his behalf to get further guidance as to how the current government and by extension Cabinet could respond to that sad state of affairs," he added.

Owalo then received instructions from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to reach out to the family to plan the logistics ahead of Magoha's sendoff and had consultations with the late Magoha's family who made requests to the government, which it executed.

"I was instructed by the Deputy President then to reach out to the family so that we could collectively become part and parcel of the preparations of that sad journey. When I went to the family residence in Lavington, I had consultations with Dr Barbara and son Michael and MP Elisha and they did make certain requests to the government which I relayed back.

"I'm happy to report that all that Magoha asked for at that point in time by way of logistical support from the government, it indeed acceded to and went ahead to execute with precision," he added.

The family had asked the state to help in airlifting the body of Magoha to Siaya, a wish that was granted as it was airlifted to the county through a military chopper. 

Owalo then read President Ruto's speech on his behalf as he was absent from the Siaya burial. He is currently meeting Governors and national government executives in Naivasha, where he held a two-day seminar from Friday, February 10.

"I received the sad news of the sudden passing on of Prof George Albert Omore Magoha on Tuesday, January 24 with total surprise and disbelief. I wanted to believe that it was fake news in the post-truth times that we live in today. I tried to wish it away as a bad dream but it was neither fake news nor a passing bad dream. 

"We are all therefore slowly coming to terms with the harsh reality. The cruel hand of death has plucked from our midst one of our finest. We have lost an amazing person whom we have variously known as a colleague, a friend, a relative, a role model and a mentor," Owalo read Ruto's speech.

Many expected that Ruto would be present at the burial which was attended by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and allied MPs, as well as Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, Magoha's predecessor.

Ruto had missed key events preceding the burial due to conflicting matters and had failed to visit Magoha's home in Lavington, but DP Gachagua managed to visit the home after his death.

Despite his absence, Uhuru led mourners in giving Magoha a befitting send-off, which was brought to a standstill by Raila's performance of the Luo traditional cultural chant -Siguweya- where he chanted 'jowi' with his entourage.

However, this prompted Uhuru's security to swing into action and adopt the box formation around him, with the lead aide directing him to remain seated. This is a formation that ensures 360 degrees of protection on VIPs in high-risk crowds and ensures that the subject is centred and safely guarded during extraction.

Watch below courtesy of Citizen TV: