This archive report was first published on 7 October 2021.
On October 7, 2021, lawyer Donald Kipkorir expressed his disappointment with Kenyans mourning the death of his colleague Evans Monari, saying many of them were not there to support him during his final days.
Monari, a senior counsel, had been battling illness for a while and had to be supported by his colleagues in the legal profession, who fundraised to clear a bill of Sh16 million to cover his medical expenses in the Intensive Care Unit.
‘Yet, when he died, many are shedding tears. I have no issue with mourning. But I have a problem with those who were in a position to hold Monari’s hand when he needed, and didn’t. I have a problem with those who could have given Monari public assignments and didn’t. Who could have given him BIG LEGAL BRIEFS and didn’t. He never sought favours but he should have been given,’ Kipkorir wrote.
He took issue with senior public officials who had the opportunity to support Monari but never did, and instead poured tribute to his colleague, describing him as one of the best brains in the legal profession who remained humble.
‘He would switch from discussing William Shakespeare to the most mundane and base of human life at its most primeval. He had friends across all social strata’, Kipkorir added.
Monari was a super clever lawyer who reached the pinnacle of his career, but the system failed to reward him, and he confided in Kipkorir that he was waiting for President Uhuru Kenyatta to give him a public office.
‘Monari deserved to have been made a Minister, Attorney General or Chairman of the biggest State Corporation. He should have been given EGH and SC. He wasn’t given any. Kenya rewards charlatans, fraudsters and conmen. But our brightest, we only celebrate them when they die,’ Kipkorir wrote.
As Kenyans mourn Monari, Kipkorir urged them to engage in soul-searching, saying that true friendship requires knowing and supporting one another’s struggles.
