David Turton

David Turton: A tribute

It’s with great sadness that we learned of David Turton’s passing last week. Without David, there would be no Omo-Turkana Research Network. His scholarship and his collegiality were examples to all of us to have been involved in coordinating networks of research and advocacy in the region. As a slightly naïve postdoc in 2013, Jenny reached out to him while struggling to get her first funded project off the ground in the Lower Omo. Never having visited the region before, I reached out to him to ask for any advice, and his response was the epitome of his character. He was supportive and enthusiastic about the ideas, while offering constructive criticism and practical advice. He invited me to meet him and Pat for tea at the Serpentine and we had a long walk talking about the project. Jed’s experience as a PhD student was similar. Both of us benefitted from hearing about their experiences first hand, and enjoyed their company whenever we met up in London or Oxford.  

One of David’s greatest legacies is the number of researchers that he has mentored who continue to work in the Lower Omo, particularly in the last decade, assessing the impact of the Gibe III dam and advocating for the communities who have been affected. David encouraged us to work together across disciplines, and to try to follow the problems wherever they led. We quickly realised that such partnerships would only strengthen our work in the region, and we launched OTuRN in 2016 in order to carry this forward. In the early years of the network David leant a hand by using his broad networks to help us invite folks to workshops and offering sage counsel throughout. It is also with his voice in our ears that we decided that in addition to  academic networking, we also had a role to play in supporting advocacy; as such we built relationships with NGOs and journalists so we could share our research to support action. It’s an honour to continue David’s work in this area and we hope to make him proud as we continue forwards, although we’ll miss his guidance.  

We were all so thrilled to see David in Jinka in August 2023, and it’s some comfort that he was able to return to the communities that meant so much to him with Pat, Danny, and the family, who are in our thoughts and prayers. May his memory be a blessing and an inspiration. 

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