The agony of the families of victims of Azimio's mass protests

When Hellen Amondi bid her husband Joel Owino Odero goodbye on Thursday morning as he went to seek treatment for tuberculosis, she was optimistic he would make it back home safely despite Azimio's anti-government protests.

The streets of Kisumu city were unsafe because of the ongoing anti-government protests and it would only have made sense for Odero to seek treatment the following day. However, the pain he had endured the previous night due to a persistent cough could not allow him the luxury of waiting another 24 hours.

Odero did not want to have the same nasty experience the following night and so he decided to brave teargas, police water cannons and the risk of being attacked by violent protesters to seek medical attention.

Odero, who had been diagnosed with the disease a day earlier but was not given any medication, did not make it back home that day. The next report Ms Amondi and their three children received was that their breadwinner was no more. Odero was attacked by protesters at Nyalenda, stabbed several times and succumbed to his injuries.

Amondi, Odero's wife of 20 years, said he had cautioned her husband to be careful, as the violent protests turned chaotic, as he went to seek treatment.

"For us, the pain he had gone through the previous night was unbearable. Even for him, the risk he faced crossing the streets did not bother him much. All he wanted was to get relief from his pain. He just wanted to access a medical facility," said Amondi.

She added: " I bid him goodbye and told him to be careful as he went to town. I did not know it was the last time I would see my husband alive. What a sad turn of events for us! How would I have known my husband would be among the victims of the violent protests?"

When the guns fell silent, and the marauding goons, who took advantage of the protests to steal and maim innocent victims disappeared into the estates, Odero lay dead at Nyalenda. He was stabbed several times.

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"I called him when I heard teargas exploding near our home here in Nyamasaria. I was worried. He told me he was at their office in Milimani," Amondi said.

Odero was an employee of Green Health.

By this time, the youth had engaged the police in running battles, and paralysing activities in Kisumu.

She said Odero decided to walk home in the evening after things had calmed down. At 6 pm, Odero informed his wife that he was on his way home.

However, upon reaching Nyalenda, Odero met a group of people who attacked him. They also robbed him.

"He did not arrive home on Thursday night as expected. I went to their office the following morning to see if he was there. He was not there. Upon checking at Jaramogi hospital, I found out he was among the victims of the protests. His body was at the hospital's morgue. It had three deep stab wounds on the neck, chest and ribs," Amondi said.

When The Standard visited her home at Mowlem on Sunday, family and friends had gathered to begin preparations for his burial.

Odero's family said they lost a breadwinner and a dependable person who was always there for them.

Odero leaves behind three teenage children who are in college. They are aged 19, 20 and 23.

He is among several victims of the protests. Some of the victims were shot by the police while others have been attacked by protesters who have taken advantage of the unrest to unleash terror on innocent civilians even as pressure continues to pile on opposition leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto to drop their hardline stands and end the animosity between them.

Odero's is among the many families in Kenya that are grappling with medical and funeral expenses in the aftermath of the Raila-led demonstrations that have gripped the country, especially Nairobi, Kisumu and Kakamega counties.

Some families said they have been forced to rely on well-wishers and family members to settle the bills.

Reports at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital indicate that 19 people, who sustained injuries during the protests, were treated on Thursday last week. Four had gunshot wounds, and 15 others had various degrees of injuries, including stab wounds.

A nurse, who was heading to the facility for her night shift, was also mugged by thugs.

In Nyamira, the family of a third-year student at Maseno University, who was allegedly shot in cold blood by police, is yet to come to terms with the demise of their son.

When they thought their son was in class busy studying, William Mayenga lay dead. He had been shot in the neck.

He was among the first victims of the protests and was the first person to die in Nyanza as protests turned violent.

Last week, his mother, Eveline Miruka, told journalists that she did not believe her son was no more.

"When I got to the hospital, they told me my child was long dead. What did my son for anyone to kill him?" she said.

Mayange, an education student, was pronounced dead moments after arriving at Coptic Hospital. He had a bullet wound in the neck.

The police have claimed the student was among a group of people who had attacked Maseno Police Station.

In a video seen by The Standard, the student can be seen, alongside other students, picketing. He suddenly falls to the ground after a gunshot.

In Migori County, Gregory Odhiambo, 22, a boda boda rider, said he was ferrying a customer in Rongo town when something hit him. He thought it was a stone.

"My customer ran away. When I checked, my trouser had been torn, and blood was oozing out of my thigh," Odhiambo said.

He had been shot. Odhiambo said fellow boda-boda riders took him to Rongo sub-county hospital before he was referred to Migori County Referral Hospital.

Pius Oguna, who was shot in Rongo during Azimio la Umoja demonstrations, said he was heading to Nyarach from Rosewood when he came face-to-face with demonstrators. He was shot in the leg.

"My leg was fractured, and there was a deep hole," he said.

Oguna was taken to Rongo Sub-county hospital before being referred to Migori County Referral Hospital for specialized treatment.

Odhiambo and Oguna were treated and discharged after a few days.