Washington Aggrey Jalang'o Okumu (21 February 1936 – 1 November 2016) was a Kenyan diplomat, politician, academic and author, who rose to fame as the mediator that convinced the Inkatha Freedom Party's leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, to be part of South Africa's democratic elections in 1994, thereby ensuring a peaceful transition for South Africa's politics.
On the recommendation of the late Tom Mboya, Okumu was selected to be part of 'The Kennedy Airlift', a program aimed at providing education for young and bright East Africans.
In 1959, he enrolled for the International Student Relations Seminar (ISRS), a summer programme at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
[4] In addition to this, Okumu held various roles; including as Director of a British Christian think-tank, the Newick Park Initiative from 1987 through 1993 and the Ambassador-at-Large and international spokesman for the first major opposition party, the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) in 1993.
[1] Okumu died in his home in Nyang'oma East village in Siaya county on 1 November 2016 after a battle with diabetes, hypertension and arthritis.