Mary Ojode (Centre), the wife of the late Orwa Ojode. Her son Andrew Ojode is staring down, on her left. Picture courtesy of diasporamessenger.com
The late Orwa Ojode was buried at his home in Ndhiwa on Sunday at a funeral ceremony that was attended by thousands of mourners.
President Mwai Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Speaker Kenneth Marende led more than 100 Mps to mourn the death of the former assistant minister of internal security and MP for Ndhiwa constituency.
Ojode died on 10th June this month in a helicopter crash, together with internal security Minister George Saitoti, Captain Nancy Gituanja (the pilot), Co- pilot Luke Oyugi, bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergent Thomas Murimi.
Ms. Mary Ojode, the widow to the deceased said she lost a dear person in her life and that he was a committed servant of the people. She however pleaded with journalists to be more sensitive in future about the families of the deceased when it came to reporting about sudden accidents like for the case of Ojode and Saitoti.
"Journalists should be more sensitive before releasing such information. Think of the family of the bereaved," said Mary Ojode.
She was referring to the circumstances in which her son Andrew Ojode came to discover what had happened to his father on the news.
There was a lot of wailing from mourners who were outside the tent during the funeral service prompting the local administration officers and Minister of Immigration Otieno Kajwang to intervene to calm them down.
Hon. William Ruto eulogized Ojode as a man who had put the interests of his constituents first before anything else.
"He was a man who stood tall, just like his height," said Ruto.
Ms. Martha Karua spoke on behalf of her Narc Kenya party and as a colleague of Ojode, remembering him as one of the most committed members of the front bench in parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Ministers Sally Kosgei, James orengo and Moses Wetangula also spoke kindly of Ojode.
Speaker Kenneth Marende said Ojode was a man of many attributes who could blend into any character when the situation called for it.
"He was a man of all seasons. He could be humorous when the situation called for it, serious when it called for it… he was a leader who inspired hope and brought a smile to everyone," said Marende.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga said he trusted Ojode with the crucial ministry of Internal Security because he was the most capable person from ODM who could perform best there.
"He defended the government which was made up of both PNU and ODM without partiality. He took his job very seriously… he was an effective member of parliament in his constituency," said Raila.
He also took the opportunity to bash politicians who engaged in tribal politics and singled out Kamatusa and Gema as platforms that fragmented the country.
President Kibaki summed up all that had been said of Ojode in his speech by portraying Ojode as a man of the people.
"He was a leader, a patriot and a selfless servant of the people. We celebrate the success and achievements of Ojode," said kibaki.
The government has formed a commission of inquiry to carry out investigations into the cause of the accident, parallel to other investigations being carried out by the crashed chopper manufacturers, Eurocopter.
Court of Appeal Judge, Kalpana Rawal is heading the inquiry formed by the government.
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