Kenyans mourn Harvard University scholar, Prof Calestous Juma

16 Décembre 2017

Nairobi, Kenya, December 16 (Infosplusgabon) - Tributes have been pouring in for the departed Kenya-born scholar Prof. Calestous Juma, who died Friday in Boston, US, while undergoing treatment.

President Uhuru Kenyatta mourned Prof. Juma as one of the most distinguished scholars Kenya has ever produced and praised his scientific research initiatives which benefited Kenya.

"I learned of the death of Professor Calestous Juma with profound dismay. We have lost one of our most distinguished scholars and patriots," President Kenyatta said in a statement.

He said the late scholar was dedicated to Kenya’s cause as shown in his founding of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in Nairobi.

Prof. Juma was ACTS Executive Director until 1995, when he left to take up the position of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal.

He was appointed Professor of International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) in the USA, where he oversaw programmes in Health Innovation funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Prof Juma was a renowned journalist and a scholar best known for his efforts to promote innovation, research, science and technology.

President Kenyatta said those who had the pleasure of meeting him — or communicating with him online and off — will testify to his warmth, his love for learning, and his great generosity.

Prof Juma was an active social media user through which he engaged in discussions on matters of science and global development.

"Whoever you were, he replied quickly and courteously, eager to let you have the benefit of his learning and experience. We will miss him," President Kenyatta said.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, said the "cruel hand of death" claimed one of Kenya's finest scholars and global ambassadors.

"Over the years, I have had the opportunity to interact and work closely with Prof Calestous Juma, particularly during my public lectures in the US during which I also had the privilege of visiting him at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University," Odinga said.

He said Juma represented the best of scholarship and public service.

He believed in transferring knowledge to and empowering the next generation of young people of every nationality to shape the world, Odinga said.

Odinga remembered Juma as particularly passionate in the use of technology in all spheres of life and more particularly in agriculture as a means of maximizing productivity and ensuring food security.

He was also a keen believer in regional integration as a means of empowering citizens and bringing the world closer together.

"As a country, we are all better off because we produced Prof. Juma. But it is possible that we could have tapped and benefitted more from his fountain of knowledge that he was always ready to offer particularly in the areas of modern agriculture, innovation, engineering, international development and biotechnology," Odinga said.

Odinga said he was aware of attempts by the don to start a high calibre college of Science and Technology in Western Kenya which never bore fruit due to lack of support.

Odinga said in his death, Kenya has lost not just a distinguished and refined scholar but also an ambassador who helped build the country’s profile across the globe while also creating platforms for the nation to showcase its worth and causes.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/IOP/GABON 2017

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