Legendary Kenyan politician, journalist and activist Orie Rogo Manduli passed on at her Nairobi home on Wednesday (08.09.2021).
According to her assistant Samuel Ndambuki, she died doing what she did best – applying make-up. Manduli was getting ready to leave for a medical check-up. She died at the age of 73.
Synonymous with her bold stances on different topics and unapologetic nature, she epitomized female boldness and women in the country and the world over looked up to her. Her intrepid temperament saw her explore uncharted ground and do things only a few would have the balls to.
Here are some of the moments we will remember her for:
1. She was the first ever woman of East African descent to participate in the East African Safari Rally in 1974 and 1975.
2. She burst into the limelight in high school when she was crowned Miss Kenya at just 16.
3. She was a professionally trained teacher who never got to practice teaching as she got married immediately after graduating from Machakos Teachers’ College.
4. Her penchant for flowing African regalia made her a notable fashion figure. Her signature humongous headwraps and heavy jewelry became a part and parcel of her being and she has been quoted as saying that not wearing the headwrap would be tantamount with a bride shoing up to her wedding with no make-up.
5. Her larger than life persona easily makes her a formidable Kenyan diva. Word has it that she once showed up to a Kenyan restaurant and demanded that she be served by no less than the owner of the establishment.
6. She married young, only to get divorced 5 years later. She would later remarry into Zambian royalty, Norman Manduli, a cousin of former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba.
7. She had 3 daughters, Elizabeth, Alice and Janice from her first marriage and a son Katyana from her second marriage.
8. She was the first woman to head the Non-Governmental Council (NGO)
9. She infamously called socialites Huddah Monroe and Vera Sidika “high-end protistutes.”
Manduli leaves a legacy that is second to none. She challenged norms and status quo and feared no backlash. Several political leaders have lauded her in different ways. President Uhuru Kenyatta mourned her as a woman of many firsts who constantly fought for women empowerment.
Shortly after her passing, rapper Khaligraph Jones revealed there was an imminent meeting between and Manduli: “About 2 months ago. I received a call from the late Orie Rogo Manduli and she told me how she loved the song Hao and we even planned to link up for a chat after she was discharged from hospital but it seems God had other plans, unfortunately she passed on today before our plan came to be, may she rest in peace. See you on the other side,” he posted.
It is unclear what she succumbed to, but multiple sources indicate she had been in out of hospital seeking treatment of a kidney-related illness.
