Wife of Jackson Namunya Tali says he was trying to save live of patient

The Gachie nurse sentenced to death for the murder of a teenager and her unborn baby got the backing of his wife who came to his defence.

Ms Consolata Ayuma, wife of the Jackson Namunya Tali, said her husband was trying to save the life of Christine Atieno, who had attempted to procure an abortion elsewhere.

The bid had backfired, prompting her to seek help from her husband.

“She came at dawn, she was in pain. My husband said his work is to save people, so he agreed to help her,” she said in an interview with Saturday Nation on Thursday.

Ms Ayuma said they had a been woken up by a knock on the door and opened it to find a woman crying in pain outside.

“I thought it was a woman who had come to give birth but when I saw her my heart missed a beat. I told my husband not to admit the girl but he did not listen,” she says.

Christine Atieno had come to the city to work as a house-help in Gachie after life got tough in her upcountry home.

She was an orphan and depended on her uncle who works as a gardener in Runda. They both lived in a small, single room in Gachie.

When she got pregnant, she resolved to procure an abortion. She already had another child.

Although information on the abortion process she undertook remain scanty, it is alleged that she went to Mr Tali’s clinic owned by a nurse to get rid of the foetus.

However, the process went awry and she died in the facility, which for many, is known to be a dental clinic. That was way back in July 2009.

SENTENCED TO DEATH

On Thursday, Mr Tali was sentenced to death by a Nairobi court for killing a foetus and its mother.

Justice Nicholas Ombija found him guilty for being solely responsible for Atieno’s death.

Ms Ayuma narrated her ordeal as she tried to secure her husband’s freedom.

The family even paid Sh150,000 to a senior police officer at Gigiri police station who had promised to secure his release, she said.

But the officer never helped them as he was transferred to another station.

Short of money, she was forced to sell her husband’s car to get funds to facilitate his release, but all in vain.

“We sold everything including his car, his clothes, my leather jackets to raise money for the case. But all that never bore any fruits,” Ms Ayuma said, tearfully.

Her husband was arrested when she was only five months’ pregnant. “You can imagine that he has not seen his son up to now,” Ms Ayuma said.

But Atieno’s family was in celebration, saying that justice had finally been served and that her soul will now rest in peace.

Raised as an orphan, Atieno died after experiencing excessive bleeding.

The girl’s kin, Mr Vincent Ouma, told Saturday Nation that although they were not in court to hear the sentencing, the family welcomed the outcome.

“She left a child that we are taking care of. She was a total orphan and I housed her here in Gachie before she met her untimely death,” Mr Ouma said.

Mr Ouma who worked nightshifts in Runda shared the single room with his niece.

“I could sleep in the house during the day while she had her turn at night,” he recalls their life.

Known to the residents as ‘daktari’ (doctor), Mr Tali owned the clinic in Gachie market and was famous for his outgoing character.

News that he had been sentenced to death was shocking to them and those he served, they said.

“You can see that the incident and his arrest happened five years ago yet we all recall him like it was yesterday and were craving to see him,” Mr Joseph Mwangi, a resident told Saturday Nation.

His clinic has since been transformed into a cereals shop.

In a strange twist of events, both families — of the deceased and Tali’s — were never in court for the ruling and they learnt of the sentence through the media.