THE FIRST PUBLICATION ABOUT THE BURJI BY A BURJI

By Tego Wolasa

The first written work about the Burji by a Burji is perhaps the Late Ambassador Mude Dae Mude’s work titled “The Amaro Burji of Southern Ethiopia.” He published the work in Ngano; Nairobi Historical Studies, Vol.1, Nairobi: University of Nairobi, 1969.

He in 1979 published a novel titled ‘The Hills are falling,’ the book depicts the life of one Galge who is caught between traditional life in the village and modernity. It is believed that the book is his autobiography.

In 2009 he again published “Fighting for Bomas: In Search of Kenya I Want.” In the book, he laments that the Kenyan constitution has severally been tampered with since independence rendering it a draconian tool in the hands of the Executive.

He was the first person to be appointed an ambassador from Upper Eastern (Marsabit & Isiolo counties). He served as Kenya’s High Commissioner in Canberra 1992-1993 and after that in the UAE and #Ethiopia

With a diploma in journalism from the International Institute of journalism in West Berlin, the late ambassador served as a senior editor in The Standard Group as well as The Nation before being appointed an Ambassador.

Leaving behind a wife and five children, Mude Dae Mude died on 30th August 2015 at The Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi. Friends and family remember him as a distinguished Author, Journalist, and diplomat who had uncontaminated integrity and humility.