Ibrahim Ogeto, who passed on over the weekend had complained of painful tonsils for some time before he met his death.

An account by his widow Joan Muhando, has revealed that Mr Ogeto, the coordinator of the Nakuru Paralegal Network left his home on Saturday, complaining of pain in the throat.

The widow who was still grieving her husband's death only spoke to his close friend Charles Okumu, noting that the husband called her at around 9 am to inform him that he had arrived at work.

He however said he had hit his head on a matatu, as he boarded the vehicle heading to work, and was in pain.

The wife advised him to seek medical attention but he declined saying it was a minor accident.

He promised her to go to the hospital later in the day, after meeting some people at the Bondeni Police station.

"We are not sure whether he met them. However, he met some of our friends in town and looked very okay," recalls Mr Okumu.

The wife said she found his missed calls at 2 pm, but she did not call back as she was busy running some errands.

Mr Ogeto arrived at home in the evening, complaining of severe headache. The wife asked if he had visited the hospital, but he said he will do it in the morning.

He went straight to bed at 7:15 pm and woke up at around 9 pm to take dinner.

Ms Muhando says her husband requested for warm water to drink and cool the pain in the throat, before going back to sleep.

At around midnight, the wife was woken up by her husband's loud scream. On switching on the lights, she found her husband's eyes had turned, with foam coming from his mouth.

Ms Muhando called her neighbours who helped her rush him to Mediheal hospital but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Mr Okumu says he last spoke to Mr Ogeto on Monday last week, when they attended a meeting by the task force led by the former Chief Justice David Maraga on police reforms.

"He was the moderator in that meeting and he spoke a lot about the police reforms," says Mr Okumu.

The family and friends will be meeting on Tuesday to plan for burial arrangements.

opendajoseph@gmail.com

Family, friends recount last moments of human rights defender

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Joseph Openda