Woman claiming to be Otieno Kajwang’s wife causes a stir

Drama unfolded at the Lee Funeral Home Friday after a woman who identified herself as the wife of Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’ was barred from viewing his body.

Mrs Faith Vivian Otieno and her daughter Christie Otieno, 18, together with some relatives, were ordered to leave the home by Mr Kajwang’s family members and friends who were waiting for the post-mortem results.

They, however, stood their ground and refused to leave with Ms Otieno insisting she was the Senator’s legal wife and had a right to view the body and take part in the burial plans.

“I have been married for 19 years to Otieno Kajwang’. We have two children — Christie who just completed high school and Ronnie Odinga Otieno, 19 — who is at Kabarak University. Let it be known that I am not his girlfriend, but his legal wife. In fact when she was in the UK, I was the one living with Kajwang.”

She was referring to Mr Kajwang’s first wife Rose, who was inside the funeral home during the scuffle. She later walked out at around noon and was escorted into a waiting car by Siaya Senator James Orengo. She did not speak to journalists.

Ms Otieno then walked into the mortuary joined by a group of relatives after the guards yielded to demands by rowdy youths to let her in.

CAUSED A SCENE

She walked out after a few minutes and caused a scene at the parking lot, shouting that it was unfair to sideline her since she was the senator’s legal wife.

Mr Orengo, who was accompanied by Ruaraka MP and brother of the fallen senator, Tom Kajwang’, said the burial would take place on Friday in Mbita.

“We will have a memorial service at Maxwell Shrine in Nairobi on Wednesday morning. This will be followed by an interdenominational service at Uhuru Park where Kenyans will also have a chance to view the late Senators body,” Mr Orengo, who is the chairman of the funeral planning committee, said, adding, the body would be airlifted to Kisumu and then taken to Homa Bay by road.

Later in the afternoon, pathologists Dr Johansen Oduor and Prof Emily Rogena released the postmortem results, saying, the senator had died of a heart attack.

Dr Oduor told a press conference at the Cord secretariat in Upper Hill, Nairobi, that the results showed that his heart had a narrow valve because of high cholestrol levels, which had blocked blood flow to the heart.

“He had a previous scar in his heart, showing he had had this condition before, so this new scar formed in an area which is a passage of blood in the heart. His valve had narrowed because of cholesterol,” he said, adding that the heart was enlarged due to high blood pressure.

The doctors, however, said the findings were not conclusive and that two more tests would be conducted on the blood, tissues and body fluids to give a more detailed results.

Prof Rogena, the family pathologist, said two main tests would be carried out at the University of Pretoria.

“We need to run the additional analysis to confirm what we saw in his heart was truly the narrowing of the heart vessels as well as tests of the blood and body samples so as to give a final diagnosis, in due course,” she said.

Mr Orengo, who accompanied the pathologists said: “We noticed some features that required further analysis. Four of his ribs were broken on his left side; he had fractures on his chest and a dislocation.”

CONCLUSIVE ANSWER

Doctors also noticed massive corrosion in his stomach and some reddening there as well, hence the need for two more tests “to get a conclusive answer”.

On Thursday, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party set up a committee to be chaired by Mathare MP Steven Kariuki to organise the funeral. He will be assisted by Mr Rashid

Mohammed, the chairman of the ODM Youth League.

Ms Beth Syeng’o was chosen as secretary.

Other members are Senators Janet Ong’era and Dr Agnes Zani and MPs Ababu Namwamba, Dennitah Ghati and National Assembly Minority Whip Thomas Mwadeghu.

The committee will also work closely with the senate committee being chaired by Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura.