Now and then, there are individuals who defy the odds. Professor Rok Ajulu is one of them, write Sipho Seepe and Thami Ka Plaatjie.
In Beautiful Feathers, the Nigerian writer Cyprian Ekwensi uses the Ibo proverb "however famous a man is outside, if he is not respected inside his own home, he is like a bird with beautiful feathers, wonderful on the outside but ordinary within" as a backdrop to his novel.
The biblical version of the proverb appears in Luke 4: 24 where Jesus observes that “no prophet is accepted in his hometown”.
Now and then, there are individuals who defy the odds. Professor Rok Ajulu is one of them.
Since the announcement of Ajulu’s death, tributes have come thick and fast. The unmistakable theme running through them is that Ajulu was not only a consummate scholar but perhaps most importantly an internationalist.
Perhaps the greatest honour came from President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.
In his message of condolence, Kenyatta observed: “I learned of the death of Professor Rok Ajulu with dismay and sadness. He was one of Kenya’s most distinguished and thoughtful academics, and a true pan-African He was a penetrating and prolific scholar, his books and papers expressing his distinctive views in rigorous and stylish prose I am grateful for Professor Ajulu’s life, rich in achievements, in friendships and in productive scholarship. I offer his family what consolation I can, and I pray God will grant them the courage to bear their loss.”
In a fitting tribute, President Jacob Zuma expressed a similar appreciation of Ajulu’s contribution as both an internationalist and an activist against injustice.
What was unmistakable about Ajulu was his love of his home country. Despite being an internationalist in orientation, he remained rooted in the source that gave him his first breath.
It is perhaps fitting that he will be interred among his people, to be in communion as it were with his parents and ancestors.
Ajulu was an embodiment of an internationalist. He was driven to our shores by his passion for justice. It was in the struggle that he shared with us his idealism and an appetite and craving for freedom.
He also had a human side. Friends have regaled us with stories that speak to his humorous and human side.
One wrote: “The colourful Rok Ajulu had this Volkswagen which he called ‘Things Fall Apart’. One could find the car parked anywhere for a minute or even five days in Roma or around Maseru. ‘Things Fall Apart’ was a special car which served the purpose of activists or students alike, for as long as it moved from point A to point B! As an activist you could request a lift in that car or even borrow it without failure, of course at the risk of it breaking down somewhere or running out of petrol as soon as you went into it. ‘Things Fall Apart’ shared the reputation of its own.
“(Ajulu) had great hopes for the struggle of the people of South Africa, but greater hope for the freedom of our country.”
In his book Facing Mount Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta argued that the rationale for the struggle for freedom was to ensure that twin objectives were realised so that “our children may learn about the heroes of the past. (But) our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future”.
Ajulu’s life story has been in ardent fulfilment of the second obligation, to be the architect of the future.
The first obligation was attained by the earlier struggles for freedom. His life story has been that of a continuous actor in the theatre of struggle to fight for the creation of the new architecture of a free and liberated Kenya and South Africa.
The mantle of resistance was strongly etched in his life and became his second nature. He eschewed all forms of oppression wherever he could detect them and evoked the fiercest responses to combat them.
Ajulu’s life is intrinsically intertwined with Kenya's political life. After the glorious years of its early democratic life under President Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya was plunged into a state of tyranny under President Daniel arap Moi.
Suppression of all forms of opposition followed. This included the banishment of the vocal Nairobi University Staff Union to which Ajulu belonged.
He went into exile in Lesotho where he joined the struggle against apartheid South Africa.
At the university at Roma, Lesotho, he made numerous friends among the exiled community of southern Africa and saw their struggle as intricately linked to his own.
Through his selfless struggle, Ajulu has laid the foundation of a new democratic and egalitarian architecture that will ensure future generations are exempted from the misrule of the past.
* Professor Ajulu’s memorial service was held at Unisa on Saturday. His final resting place will be at his home in Kisumu, Kenya.
** Seepe is adviser to Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. Ka Plaatjie is head of ANC research.