Papa Shirandula's wife painfully recounts last moments with actor

My husband died while seated in the vehicle at Karen Hospital.

These were the words of Beatrice Andega, the wife to Charles Bukeko Aka Papa Shirandula who passed away on Saturday.

Andega narrated how she urged Papa to go and get tested after he complained of feeling very cold.

"He did everything for me. He is a man who supported me and If I wanted to do a project I could talk to him.. he supported me," Andega painfully narrated on Monday.

Speaking during the funeral service of Papa in Funyula, Busia County, Andega said before his death, the actor was out working for three weeks.

"He came on Sunday and told me he was feeling cold then on Monday I told him to go and do pneumonia, malaria and Covid-19 tests," she said.

" I told him to make sure they were three tests. On Wednesday he said he had only received Covid-19 results. On Friday, I saw he was not doing well so I took him to hospital on Saturday."

Andega said she went to Karen admission area and the process was tedious.

"He passed on when I was with him. He was seated in the car waiting for admission. The doctor then told me that they only did one test on him," she said.

"I felt it was negligence.. I wish they did everything to save him.. I surrender all."

The body of TV actor and comedian Charles Bukeko, popularly known as Papa Shirandula, arrived at his Funyula home in Busia County at around 3.00 am on Monday.

He was laid to rest at around 8.45 am.

The body of the TV star was accompanied by two buses of mourners who were received by Busia county health officials.

They were all screened under strict Covid-19 protocols.

His body was carried in a hearse from Nairobi to his village in Busia, a distance of about 450 kilometres.

Those who accompanied the body were not allowed to mingle and spent the rest of the night and morning in one tent.

Authorities asked locals not to mingle with them to avoid the spread of the disease.

 All the vehicles used for transport were fumigated as required by the strict Covid-19 directives.