Ababu Namwamba……Photo/IP
By IP Reporter
NAIROBI, Kenya
Ambassador Ababu Namwambwa has called on lawyers from Western Kenya to steer their communities toward wealth creation by investing in companies slated for government privatization, arguing that economic power — not charity — delivers lasting influence.
Addressing about 800 lawyers from the western Kenya region in Nairobi Namwambwa said professionals must take the lead in directing capital to Nairobi, Mombasa and the private sector, rather than limiting their impact to philanthropy at home.
Namwambwa said he has invested both in his rural home area and in major cities, urging his “learned friends” to do the same by pooling resources and targeting growth sectors, including firms the government plans to offload to private investors.
He challenged the audience to rethink traditional notions of community support, saying projects such as building classrooms or donating sanitary towels, while well-intentioned, should not be the ceiling of professional engagement.
“Whatever you are doing there can be done by CDF,” he said, referring to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund, which finances local development projects.
Instead, Namwambwa argued, lawyers should help their communities own stakes in profitable enterprises, create jobs and build generational wealth.
He dismissed the idea of pride in poverty, using a Kiswahili phrase to drive the point home.
“There is no ‘maskini jeuri,’” he said, loosely translated as a proud poor person.
According to Namwambwa, poverty strips people of autonomy and leaves them vulnerable to control by those with resources and power.
“A poor person is controlled,” he said, adding that economic empowerment is essential for genuine independence and political relevance.
The ambassador said Western Kenya has the human capital and professional networks needed to compete nationally but often lacks coordinated investment strategies.
Lawyers, he said, are uniquely placed to interpret policy, structure deals and guide ordinary citizens on safe and productive investments.
He urged them to move beyond comfort zones, invest collectively and take advantage of opportunities created by privatization, public-private partnerships and the expanding private sector.
Namwambwa’s remarks come as the government pushes a privatization agenda aimed at reducing the burden of state-owned enterprises and attracting private capital.
He said the process presents a rare opportunity for professionals and communities to buy into assets that have traditionally been controlled by the state or a small elite.
The message, he said, was simple: charity may ease immediate pain, but ownership changes destinies.
