‘Ojodeh refused to let me go with him’

She cheated death when her husband refused to let her travel with him that fateful Sunday.

On Sunday, Mrs Mary Ojodeh stunned mourners during the burial of assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojodeh saying she even insisted, but her husband maintained that they could not travel together.

That saved her life, she said. Less than an hour later, she received a call from someone who asked whether Mr Ojodeh had travelled together with Internal Security Minister George Saitoti.

The caller informed her that there was a helicopter mishap, but was not sure whether “Baba Andy” (Mr Ojodeh) was one of the passengers. (SEE IN PICTURES: Ngong helicopter crash)

She immediately called Mr Tim Chege, a friend in the US, to inform their son Andrew that things could be grim.

Earlier that morning, Mrs Ojodeh had informed their son that his father was leaving for Ndhiwa and would be back by 2pm, little knowing it was the last time she would see him.

On Sunday, the 21-year-old Andrew Ojodeh gave his father’s eulogy. He said his father was a friend to all, and easily got along with anyone.

“His firstborn child was Ndhiwa constituency, while the second-born was the police department,” he said, adding that his father went about his job in such a manner that one could not tell his political affiliation.

Andrew described his father as loving, fun to be with and amazingly simple. In turn, his father was also loved by people, not only for his comical nature, but also his love for his constituents.

He said his father was in the process of implementing key projects in the constituency, including roads, factories, schools and churches, and had plans of helping set up a university.

“As a family, we thank God for his life. He taught us hard work, honesty, patience, and forgiveness,” Andy said.

The deacon at his SDA Church in Liverpool, UK, said his father had brushed shoulders with death three times, two of them in plane mishaps. He also survived a road accident.

However, these did not dent his resolve to perform his duties. “He knew that education was the key to ending poverty,” he said.

Right before God

He asked the mourners to ask themselves if they were right before God “because even as you leave this place, you are not sure whether you will reach home”.

Mrs Ojodeh said since they had only one child who was studying abroad, she was often left alone as her husband travelled.

“The last one month he had been very busy going home almost every weekend. I think God was preparing me for this.”

Mrs Ojodeh said when President Kibaki requested that the burial be on Sunday, “that was godsend since I doubt whether I could have handled this for two weeks.”

She described her husband as “a good and wonderful man who has taught us to appreciate people”. She said the Friday before his death, he pleaded with other government officials not to incite people.

“He lived a fast life, died fast, and was buried fast,” she said. Mrs Ojodeh advised the mourners to appreciate one another other since “today is probably the last”.

She said that she would always remember her husband by his favourite quote that he loved so much: “If you reward evil instead of good, evil will never depart from your house.”