By Jacinta Kamene
We all know that the air in Kakoth, Homa Bay, hangs thick with a grief that transcends the lofty headlines media houses are carrying. Yet it is utterly wrong to expose Albert’s family to indignity simply because it is humble and unable to protect its dignity at a time as this!
The Ojwang family, ensnared in a nightmare not of their making, deserves the sanctity of sorrow away from dramatised episodes, some perhaps sponsored by persons who care little about the anguish of the loss Albert’s family has to contend with just now.
It is only fair to allow the family the privacy and dignity every human being deserves to deal with moments of loss like Albert’s family is going through just now.
The sheer volume of intrusion into the Ojwang homestead makes a simple, sacred act of farewell almost impossible. The meticulous preparations for a culturally significant Luo funeral, itself a profound rite of passage involving communal lament, remembrance, and the crucial release of the spirit are now mired in logistical chaos and emotional distress.
Well-meaning supporters are now forced to mingle with gawkers with little regard for the respectful distance normally afforded to the bereaved. For Nevnina Onyango, Albert’s widow, this relentless exposure compounds a trauma already too vast to bear.
The constant presence of lenses, microphones, and probing questions denies her the quietude essential for processing unimaginable pain, for comforting her three-year-old son who has lost his father, and for finding even a moment’s fragile peace. Each intrusion is a fresh wound on an already shattered soul.
Adding grotesque insult to profound injury, the family has been forced into the undignified position of publicly sharing a paybill number to combat opportunistic fraudsters capitalising on Albert’s name.
This necessity, born of the very public frenzy surrounding a family’s tragedy, forces Albert’s family to manage logistical nightmares while drowning in grief. Their private sorrow has been commodified, their mourning disrupted by the sordid reality of scams preying on public sympathy. It is here we must sound a clarion call for decency.
There is something profoundly ignoble in dancing on the grave of the dear departed. While the nation pieces together the grim mosaic of Albert’s final hours and demands systemic change, we must not lose sight of the fundamental humanity at the heart of this tragedy.
Albert Ojwang was not merely a symbol or a hashtag. No! He was a beloved son, a devoted husband, a playful father, a teacher, a blogger with dreams and a man whose life held meaning far beyond the horrifying manner of his death.
His family deserves the right to mourn him as such, away from the glare of public scrutiny, in the embrace of their community and their traditions. The pursuit of justice for Albert Ojwang and the demand for his family’s privacy are not mutually exclusive; they are both essential acts of respect.
To the media kindly exercise profound restraint. Honour the invisible boundary surrounding profound grief. Withdraw the intrusive lenses and microphones.
Allow the Ojwangs the sacred space to weep, to remember, to break bread in silence, and to prepare for their final, heart-wrenching duty without an audience. To the public: channel your righteous anger into sustained pressure on authorities and institutions.
Support the family through legitimate channels, then grant them the immeasurable gift of solitude. Respect the dignity of their farewell. Let Albert’s legacy be more than a catalyst for change.
Let it also be a reminder of our shared humanity. Let his final journey home be marked not by the cacophony of intrusion but by the respect of a nation that understands the sanctity of sorrow. The Ojwangs have endured unimaginable loss. They should not have to endure the indignity of fighting for the simple right to say goodbye in peace.
Grant them the quiet, the privacy, and the dignity they so desperately seek. To deny them this is to add another layer of cruelty to an already unbearable burden.
Let Albert rest, and let his family mourn – for only in the quiet embrace of dignity can healing truly begin.
Kamene is a consumer protection and regulatory policy specialist.
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