Orie Rogo Manduli (née Mary Slessor Orie Rogo, 1948 – 8 September 2021) was a Kenyan diplomat, women's activist and journalist. She won the Miss Kenya beauty pageant in 1964 and in 1974, alongside Sylvia Omino was the first woman of African descent and from Kenya to compete in the East African Safari Rally.

Background and education

Born in Maseno,

Kisumu County Kisumu County is one of 47 counties in the Republic of Kenya. Its borders follow those of the original Kisumu District, one of the former administrative districts of the former Nyanza Province in western Kenya. Its headquarters is Kisumu City ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

to educators Gordon Rogo and Zeruiah Adhiambo, Rogo was one of eight children and was named after

Mary Slessor Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

,a Scottish missionary. She attended Ng'iya Girls School in

Siaya Siaya is a town in Siaya County of Kenya. It is the capital of Siaya County. It is located northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital. The urban center had a population of 33,153 in 2019. Siaya municipality has five wards: Mjini, Siaya Central, ...

, then Butere Girls High School and later Machakos Girls School. She then proceeded to Machakos Teachers College where she trained and graduated as a teacher. After moving to Canada with her husband, she obtained a diploma in

Office management Office management is a profession involving the design, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of the process of work within an office or other organization, in order to sustain and improve efficiency and productivity. Office management is ...

from an unspecified college. In 1991 she graduated cum laude from

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

, Halifax with a degree in

Public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

after which she graduated with a Masters in

International relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

in 1993.

Career

Journalism

After her first divorce, Rogo worked as journalist at

Voice of Kenya Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is the state-run media organisation of Kenya. It broadcasts in English and Swahili, as well as in most local languages of Kenya. The corporation started its life in 1928 when Kenya was a British colony. ...

, now Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). She hosted 2 shows, Mambo Leo and Women's World, from where according to Hakika News, she "developed an interest in the Safari Rally after interviewing drivers".

Diplomacy

Rogo was involved in the pre-conference lobbying during the fourth World Conference on Women in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 1995. This earned her a position at the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

through which she gained diplomatic status by being the body's Permanent Representative to the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

and

UN-Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...

Governance and Administration

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, she unsuccessfully vied for the position of Member of Parliament for

Kasarani Kasarani is a commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Kasarani is also used in reference to the city's sub-county with the same name, which spans through neighbourhoods in the northeastern areas of Nairobi. Located within the larg ...

on the

Ford People Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

ticket. Later on in January

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, she also run for the Kisumu Town West parliamentary seat in a by-election following the death of the Joab Omino. In 2005, she became the first woman in Kenya to head the Non Governmental Organizations Council of Kenya. Starting in March

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Rogo was "an ordinary member of the executive committee". She then served as a deputy chair to Gichira Kibara who later left and she was voted in to this position.

Motor racing

With Sylvia Omino as her co-driver, she competed in the 1974 East Africa Safari rally. Dubbed the "Rally Girls", they were able to finish two legs of the rally. As a rally driver she competed as Mary Ondieki.

Personal life

Soon after her teacher training, Rogo married John Jeremiah Ondieki, a civil servant and emigrated to Canada. Together, with Ondieki they had three children. Her second marriage in 1980 was to Misheck Norman Manduli, a Zambian national who died in 2003. After a long illness, Rogo died at her home on 8 September 2021. She was buried in Machete village in Saboti, Trans Nzoia.

References

External links

Website of the Kenya National Council of NGOs

Entrants of the 1974 East African Safari Rally
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manduli, Orie Rogo 1948 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Kenyan women politicians Kenyan women's rights activists Kenyan motorsport people Kenyan journalists Kenyan beauty pageant winners People from Kisumu County Kenyan diplomats