Fidel treated his wife Lwam like a Queen - Bibi

Brhan ‘Bibi’ Marcos, a friend to Lwam Bekele, Fidel Odinga’s wife, was one of the family’s closest friends to Fidel.

The half Eritrean-half German told The Nairobian that Fidel was “the man who was my eldest brother” and Lwam “is like my sister; a family friend whom I have known since my childhood days. She is a wonderful person who was born to be a wife and mum.”

When she got married and then they had a son, she changed and gave her all to the two - Fidel and Allay. Here are excerpts of the interview:

“I met Fidel before he got married to Lwam on my return from Germany in 2012. We met here at his house. He did not say much, but I remember we had a long conversation about his name. I was very amused by that.

He was calm and quiet, but with Fidel, it doesn’t take long before he begins to share his joy and open up. That was my first impression. With time, I realised that he was not just a generous person in the materialistic way, but he was also emotionally generous and would share with you his joys and sorrows with a sense of humour.

I remember telling him how I feared going to Kibera, but he told me that I was thinking negatively about Kibera. So, he arranged for me to visit the people of Kibera.

I have been very close to Lwam and what I can say is that as a husband, Fidel was one loving man. He called her his ‘queen’ and she referred to him as her ‘boss’ in a really romantic and loving way. He did not just call Lwam his queen, but he treated her like one.

I remember the week before his death when we were in Naivasha, he kept holding her and treating her like they had just met. He treasured and loved his son Allay so much. The two had a relationship that goes beyond the father and son bond.

It is sad that a section of the media have portrayed Fidel negatively. Having met him, I can tell you that Fidel believed that family was not just limited to the Odingas. It was obvious that family to him extended to the Lwam side. He had an open and loving heart and I am yet to come to terms that he is actually gone.

While Lwam was very busy making a home, we spent a lot of time with Fidel and often, we could argue over his team Arsenal. I support Bayern Munich, which he always dismissed as boring. We became so close that at times, I could take weeks without directly talking to Lwam even though I was constantly with Fidel.

Whenever we went clubbing, Fidel would tell his friends and other men who made a pass at me.  He would tell me that, “I will choose the man that you are going to marry and it is not this one.”