“Remembering Jesse Jackson: A Call for Kenya’s Voices of Integrity”
Many Kenyans remember the striking newspaper images of Reverend Jesse Jackson in Nakuru in early 1998, overcome with emotion as he met families affected by ethnic violence in the Rift Valley after the 1997 elections. Hundreds had been killed and thousands forced from their homes as politically driven clashes targeted communities seen as opposition supporters.
Serving then as a U.S. envoy on democracy in Africa, Jackson urged Kenyan leaders to end the bloodshed and stop backing militias used to punish areas that did not support the ruling party. Sadly, similar patterns of politically stoked violence resurfaced years later, most painfully in the 2007–2008 post‑election crisis.
Jackson himself was more than a visitor to Kenya; he was a veteran of the U.S. civil rights struggle, a close ally of Martin Luther King Jr., and a two‑time U.S. presidential contender whose “Keep Hope Alive” message helped clear the way for a new generation, including Barack Obama’s rise to the White House.
Now that he has finished his race, his legacy challenges us, especially as Kenyans at home and abroad: Who are our own trusted moral voices people whose authority comes not from tribe, money, or party, but from consistent character and service to the nation? Who are Kenya’s “Jesse Jacksons” today?
