President Uhuru Kenyatta condoles with the wife of Prof Calestous Juma, Alison Field-Juma, at the Holy Family Basilica on January 4, 2018. Prof Juma’s son, Eric, looks on. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday led Kenyans in eulogising top Kenyan scholar Calestous Juma, who has been credited with putting the country on the international map.
The President described Prof Juma as a distinguished scholar whose work as an academician, researcher and a public intellectual, impacted the country and beyond, and who has left a legacy that will traverse generations.
Mourners present at the mass which was held at the Holy Family Minor Basilica in Nairobi, among them Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang, said the don was an intellectual powerhouse, an honourable man, a scholar of repute and integrity whose service to the country and the world has impacted hundreds of lives.
“No words can match the achievements of this great man who enjoyed an exemplary career and served with humility and generosity,” said President Kenyatta. Prof Juma’s formal teaching career began at Egoji and ended at Harvard. That is the power of persistence: He simply kept going, improving himself and his students along the way. We ought to take that lesson to heart.”
ACHIEVEMENTS
Prof Juma’s achievements as the founder of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in Nairobi in 1988, permanent executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and scholarly work at the Harvard University, received special accolades from speakers.
Justice Ojwang, a friend of Prof Juma’s, and who was part of the founding team at ACTS, said the death had come as a surprise to many.
“We have lost a distinguished scientist who played a critical role in shaping various discourses in the country,” he said.
Also present at the mass were Busia Senator Amos Wako, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris, Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu, former vice-president Moody Awori, University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor Peter Mbithi and the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo among others.
The casket was wrapped in a gown as a sign of honour for his exemplary service and contribution in the development of public universities.
At the time of his death, Juma was a Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology and Globalisation Project at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.
ACADEMIA
His colleagues in the academia, who served as pallbearers during the service Thursday, eulogised him as an astute academician whose insight helped shape research and the development of various curricula in public universities.
Prof Judith Mbula, the chairperson of the Committee of Chancellors of Public Universities in Kenya, eulogised Prof Juma as a major influence in the realm of global sustainable development, climate change and adaptation of biotechnology.
“Juma worked tirelessly to create harmony between science, technology innovation and development. He helped to link Kenyan universities to Harvard University during his time there,” said Prof Mbula.
His wife Alison Field Juma described him as a humble man who endeavoured to impact on people he met. She said he was a man with an optimistic outlook in life who turned ideas into policies that have transformed the world.
SCHOLARLY WORK
“Even as a family, we supported each other in our scholarly work,” said Mrs Juma. Prof Juma will be buried on Saturday at his home in Port Victoria in Busia county.
Dr Juma joined Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as a Visiting Fellow in its Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs in 1999.
The Budalang’i-born scholar began his career as a science teacher in Mombasa between 1974 and 1978 before becoming the first science and environment journalist for Daily Nation between 1978 and 1979.
He later started his own magazine, Ecoforum. It was during his brief stint at the Nation that environmental issues were prominently covered by Kenyan media before joining the Environment Liaison Centre in Nairobi between 1979 and 1982 as an editor and researcher.
The scientist, who attained a teacher’s certificate from Egoji Teacher’s College in 1974, also held a PhD in Science Policy Research from the University of Sussex and was one of the most sought after experts in the field of application of science, technology and innovation to sustainable development in developing and developed countries.
A public intellectual, was the only Kenyan to be listed in the inaugural list of “2017 Most Reputable People on Earth” alongside luminaries such as Bill Gates, Barack and Michelle Obama and the Pope.
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