- The former Prime Minister will have the final say on who succeeds Okoth
- Okoth’s family will today bury a banana trunk at his mother Angeline Ajwang’s home in Kabondo to symbolise the internment of her son
Image: MOSES MWANGI
The family of the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth wants the Orange Democratic Movement to endorse one of them as the next area representative.
The appeal came a day after Okoth’s body was cremated at Kariokor cemetery in Nairobi on Saturday morning.
Okoth’s maternal nephew Elvis Oluoch told the Star that the family is considering sending emissaries to party leader Raila Odinga to endorse Imran Okoth, the former MP’s personal assistant.
Imran oversaw development projects in the slum constituency during the three years the MP was away for medication.
“We want to appeal to Raila to see if he can give one of the family members that opportunity to take care of the next three years,” Oluoch said by phone.
“We have one Imran in mind. He was the personal assistant to Ken and was the one taking care of everything when Ken was sick. So we thought he is the right person to do that because he knew every plan Ken had concerning Kibra.”
Raila, having been the area as MP for over two decades and because Kibra is one of the ODM’s zones in the city, will have the final say on who succeeds Okoth.
Should he settle on Imran, the Okoth relative will join a list of politicians to take over the leadership mantle due to family ties.
Kitui West MP Edith Nyenze is the latest to be elected to succeed her husband, Francis Nyenze, who died soon after the 2017 General election.
Other political heirs include Moses Kajwang’, Eugene Wamalwa, Mutula Kilonzo Junior, Juma Boy, Oburu Oginga and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi.
Meanwhile, Okoth’s family will today bury a banana trunk at his mother Angeline Ajwang’s home in Kabondo to symbolise the internment of her son. She did not attend the cremation.
The exercise which was to be carried out yesterday was moved to today after Ajwang missed a morning flight to Kisumu.
“The plan is on but unfortunately we were planning to go to Kisumu by 6am (Sunday) but flight were already booked. We have changed our flights to 1pm on Sunday,” Oluoch stated.
Oluoch said the family is determined to do the symbolic burial to appease the Okoth's spirits in line with the Luo culture.
Traditionally, Luos buried a banana stem if someone drowned and died in a lake and the body is never recovered or when one disappears for years without a trace.
On arrival in Kisumu yesterday, Angelina was expected to meet Luo elders and villagers and decide how the ceremony will be conducted and what is needed to comply with the traditions.
“So mum (Angelina) will be travelling at 1pm (Sunday) to Kisumu, then she will sit down with villagers and elders in the community to decide whether it should be done today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday).
“It (burying banana stem) must be done.”
The chairman of the splinter Luo Council of Elders, Nyandiko Ongadi, has demanded that Okoth’s widow, Monica, must be part of the ceremony to fulfil the cultural wishes.
Nyandiko also wants Monica to be inherited in accordance with the Luo traditions by either of the Okoth brothers.
But Oluoch told the Star that he doubted that Monica will be part of the traditional ritual at Kabondo.
“Not really. I don’t think she will be going upcountry,” he said.
Ken Okoth succumbed to a two-year battle with colorectal cancer on July 26.
Monica – in a sudden change of plans – abandoned an earlier plan to have the body flown to Kabondo for public viewing and secretly cremated the remains of her husband on Saturday morning, sidelining even close family members.
Angelina, who had insisted on having her son buried at her home in Ogenga village, Kabondo Kasipul constituency, protested the cremation and will bury a banana stem.