In April this year, Albert Ojwang formally introduced his wife, Nevinina Onyango, to his family in Kakot village, Homa Bay County. It was a proud moment. They had just started their life together.
The Kiswahili and CRE teacher had big plans for his young family, which included a toddler aged two years andsix months.
And he was renovating his simba, a traditional Luo bachelor’s house he had built beside the gate within his father Meshack Ojwang’s household, to make it habitable for his family.
How did Albert Ojwang Spend Final Day with Young Family?
On the fateful day, Albert Ojwang, who had big dreams for his young family, had just returned from buying tree seedlings to plant around their home. He wanted to make the compound beautiful.
Nevinina had just served him a meal when six police officers rode in on three motorbikes.
“They did not explain anything,” she said. “They just told him to come with them.”
That was the last time she saw her husband alive.
Albert Ojwang was beaten and strangled to death while in police custody in Nairobi. Authorities first claimed it was suicide, but an autopsy showed signs of torture.
His death has sparked national outrage.
Albert was only 31. An only child. A self-sponsored graduate of Pwani University. A young man who worked hard and gave back. He supported his wife, his aging parents, and inspired youth in the village.
He had already collected bricks to build a permanent house for his parents. His uncle, Joseph Okumu, said Albert always thought of others first.
His mother, Eucabeth Adhiambo, recalls how he called almost daily to check on them. “Especially asking if his father had eaten,” she said.
Now she is left with silence. A wife without a husband, a young child without a father. And a mother and father without their son.
And the seedbed he planted still sits beside the house.
“He had big dreams for us,” Nevinina said quietly. “But they took him away before he could bring them to life.”
Source: The Nation.
By Vivian K.