28/05/2026
It is with regret that we note the passing of Professor Shem Oyoo Wandiga, a globally recognized giant of science and respected community elder whose quiet brilliance shaped the lives of millions of Kenyans.
Professor Wandiga was the primary technical architect behind the HELB framework, designing the university loan system and negotiating the initial World Bank funding that opened the doors of higher education to the sons and daughters of ordinary peasants. Beyond education, he was a pioneering environmental chemist who championed the Bondo nuclear energy project as a vital necessity for Kenya's energy independence, industrial development, and the environmental protection of the Lake Victoria basin.
His life teaches us that while our community has fought gallantly for political freedoms, the true struggle for industrial development must now be won through strategic negotiation, development, and scientific progress rather than political emotion.
He was a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and adviser to the late Rtd Hon.Raila Odinga CGH on Energy Policy.
As we join his family to give him a dignified sendoff, let us honor his legacy by choosing the path of pragmatic collaboration to bring jobs and lasting prosperity to our people through education.
