Tension as hundreds mourn Ohangla musician Jachiga

Tension was high in Chiga, Kisumu County as the body of musician Bernard Onyango Obonyo, popularly known as Abenny Jachiga, was taken to Mowlem for burial on Friday morning.

The police had difficult time controlling hundreds of mourners who accompanied the convoy that transported the body of the musician from Port Florence Hospital Mortuary.

The convoy had to use Obote Road to avoid the city centre and Kondele.  From Mowlem, the convoy snaked its way through Rabuor-Chiga Road as it headed to Kadiju where the musician will to be laid to rest.

MOURNERS TREKKED

Thousands of mourners, who trekked during the more than 20 kilometers. At the home, there was heavy police presence. 

On Thursday, the musician's fans thronged Kisumu’s Port Florence Hospital to just to view the body of the Ohangla maestro. Emotions were high as the fans ran, rode and drove to Kisumu’s Port Florence Hospital to catch one last glance of the musician.

The rowdy crowd prompted the hospital’s management to lock the gates and call the police to control the mourners. The fans ended up clashing with the police on the Kisumu-Busia road.

In the ensuing melee, the mob brought down a section of the perimeter wall at the hospital’s mortuary.

The young musician was well-known for his hit song “Mano Kasinde”, which talks about how men lie about their lovers, describing them as cousins.

STOMACH PAINS

He is also famed for other songs such as “Penzi ni Kama Yai” and “Maraga Odagi”, which he released after the 2017 ruling that nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election.

Abenny left Kisumu for Nairobi last Wednesday and fell ill on Friday, his brother Austin Omondi said. He went back to Kisumu the following day for treatment.

“He was seriously sick and kept complaining about stomach pains. He also had boils all over his body. I suspected it was chickenpox,” he said.

Mr Omondi said the musician was taken to Aga Khan Hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia. He was discharged later when his condition improved, but a doctor attended to him at home.

When his situation worsened, he was rushed to St Elizabeth Hospital in Chiga before being transferred to St Jairus Hospital, where he died at 2am.

The 33 –year-old is said to have started his music career at the age of 21 as an instrumentalist. His fans said he played at the former Gwara Gwara Club in Kondele and later Capitol Hill.

 “It is sad, we have lost such a talented young man,” said Kondele resident Joachim Oketch. The artiste has left a widow and five children.