ODM leader Raila Odinga tickled mourners during the burial of Court of Appeal judge, Justice Otieno Odek on December 27.
Raila was addressing members of the public when he pulled out a 'learned friends' joke, taking mourners down memory lane to the origin of the word.
The former premier revealed that the phrase was associated with ancient Greek lawmakers who had attained high levels of education and thus employed the term to refer to themselves.
In the process, he highlighted that Kenyans often misused the phrase.
"In Greece, the phrase learned friend was invented for a very particular category of intellectuals. To be a lawyer, you had to study philosophy, anthropology, geography, and then study law," Raila stated.
This gave an indication that in ancient Greece, the law was at the apex of education.
"Somebody at that level would then be referred to as a learned friend because they had studied a lot of professions," Raila noted.
"These days you find someone is just out of university with one degree then calls himself a learned friend," he remarked, sending the mourners into fits of laughter.
Raila dived straight into the use of the title Doctor, where he highlighted its gross misuse by members of the public and leaders alike.
He pointed out that people ought to attain the required academic qualifications to associate themselves with particular titles.
"Some people here refer to themselves as 'doctor'. In Germany, where I studied, you are only referred to as 'doctor' if you have attained a Ph.D.," theODM party leader stated.
"Over here, someone just attains a first degree in medicine then terms himself a doctor. A doctorate represents something higher. A minister calls himself doctor," Raila critiqued.
Again sending the mourners into laughter.
Present during the burial were leaders from across the country among them Chief Justice David Maraga, Senator James Orengo, Amos Wako, and Odek's colleagues from the court of Appeal.
Odek passed away on December 5 at his Kisumu apartment with the cause of his death still unclear.
