'ICC or local trial, all I want is justice'

By Nicholas Anyuor

As the noise about the International Criminal Court and pending appearances of post-election violence suspects gets louder, Samuel Oketch Odera, 48, is a bitter man.

A victim of the chaos and now disabled, he wonders why should there be disagreement on bringing to book the culprits.

"People should be held accountable for their actions. All I want is justice," he says.

He cannot walk without a crutch after a bullet fractured part of his spinal cord, weakening some of his limbs.

Police chase

He hopes the wheels of justice will grind faster, but at the moment his mind is on his two sons, Jack Omondi Oketch, 17, and Brian Onyango Oketch, 15, both pupils in Ndhiwa Primary School, whose studies have been affected after his wife ran away, allegedly because of his condition.

Samuel Oketch  dispays his medical records at his home in Rangenya.

Since Oketch cannot go out to look for work or food, his two sons have become the breadwinners.

"It is painful to see my sons miss school to look after me," he says.

He recalls with bitterness, January 1, 2008 when a bullet ruptured his back and, according to report by the Kenyatta National Hospital, ‘fractured the traverse process of right leg.’

He left hospital, six months later on June 24, 2008 and ‘on a wheelchair through urology and fracture clinic.’

On the fateful day, at around mid morning, gunshots rent the air in Rangenya village, West Kanyamwa, Homa Bay County, turning the celebratory mood of the New Year bloody.

"We couldn’t believe it since this had never happened. We didn’t expect the officers to come to the village to kill people," he recalls.

However, after about ten minutes, some youths ran into his home, calling out to be allowed into the house to escape the police chase.

"I walked out and found the young men my cousins’ sons and neighbours, but before I could let them in, they ran away," he says.

Stranded in the compound, pondering what was happening in the village, hell broke loose.

Miss school

"After a while, the guns fell silent, but I didn’t know it was a lull before a storm," he says.

Oketch says the officers had sneaked into his house.

"I heard a gunshot and soon I was on the ground. My screams attracted my family who rushed out to see what was going on, he says.

He claims an officer in military fatigues smiled at the scene and walk out of the house.

He is assisted by his sons to stand up. [PICTURE: TITUS MUNALA/STANDARD]

According to Pastor Harrison Okuku Oboo of Maranatha Church, neighbours rushed Oketch to Homa Bay District hospital amidst attacks by police.

He stayed at the hospital for five months, but still the bullet could not be removed. He was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi where he stayed for about two months. His wife ran away when he was still in hospital because she thought he would die.

Before being shot, Oketch was a farmer and had to sell his parcels of land to get money for his treatment.

He has reported his case to the Ndhiwa DCs office, but no action has been taken and he has not received any help from the Government.

"Politicians and Government officials know my case, but maybe because this is a remote village, no one can come for my help," he says.

One of his sons had to repeat Class Seven because he missed many classes. "We don’t go to school regularly because we have to ensure there is everything in the house. We tend our neighbours’ gardens for a fee. Sometimes we eat wild vegetables," Jack says.

His brother Brian is in Class Five though is not regularly in school too. Like other victims, he wants justice to be done.