Cry of church Saitoti, Ojode were heading to before crash

Martin Ouko, a village elder in Ndhiwa, bows his head in pain whenever he passes near the imposing church.

Like many Ndhiwa residents, the St Mary’s Nyarongi Catholic Church reminds him of the death of their former MP and Internal security assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojode who died in a helicopter crash alongside his boss  George Saitoti and four other people as they flew to Ndhiwa to raise funds for the church last year.

“This church is a permanent reminder of that dark day, June 10 last year when Ojode and Saitoti perished in a horrifying accident. They would be still alive were it not for their wish to help build this church,” he says.

Residents still remember the fateful day when news reached them that their would-be guests had perished.

At around mid-morning on that day, a cloud of grief and sorrow lingered in the atmosphere of the church after news about the death of the two and other four Government employees was delivered to a congregation in the Church.

The information that was relayed by Ndhiwa DC Geoffrey Omoding abruptly changed the mood from joyful prayer to mourning.

The Church was the destination of the late Saitoti and Ojode who were going to participate in a fundraiser.

The funds drive was intended for purchasing chairs, fencing the church compound, power installation, construction of a hall and construction of two classes of St Mary’s Nyarongi Primary School.

Cursed tragedy

The County Weekly visited the Church during a Sunday mas service a week ago. When we asked about the progress of the church’s development, what became evident in the faces of many was pessimism that resulted from the tragedy.

Most of the faithful cursed the tragedy. Lucas Abila,   a primary school teacher and a faithful in the church said: “There is no doubt that what happened to the Late Ojode and Saitoti traumatized us. We shall not forget the incident easily.”

They blame the tragedy for the numerous problems currently afflicting their church after the fundraiser which was to be presided over by the two leaders failed.

A catechist, Evarestus Miguna Oduol said: “Our expectation was that by now we should have bought chairs. We are now forced to sit on benches while some people have to stand while others sit on the ground when service is in progress.”

It is now one year after the demise of the two leaders and what many are asking is what followed after the occurrences.

During our visit to the Church, we met Father Samwel Jaji who is the Priest in charge of the parish. Fr Jaji is the one who was presiding over the mas which preceded the planned grand funds drive.

Security

The Priest say the church is still faced with numerous infrastructural challenges arising from lack of funds despite their endeavours to move on.

After the harambee backfired, the church held a little donation to fence the compound.

However, the donation raised too little funds to complete the project.

“We decided to consider fencing this compound because security is a factor of paramount importance in human life. But it is unfortunate that the funds raised were not enough to complete fencing the compound whose perimeter is 1.3km,” Fr Jaji says.

The priest expresses concern over the need for electricity in the church compound  which has jeopardized the use of electronic gadgets like computers.

Dire need

With the ongoing rains in the area, Fr Jaji is worried over the poor feeder road leading to the main road from the church. He says there is need to rehabilitate the road to enhance accessibility of the church even when it rains.

Ernest Otieno, the secretary to the parish Council, says the church lacks a hall where other activities can take place.

“We are sometimes forced to hold meetings in the church though a church is not a place meant for holding meetings. There is dire need for a hall to enable us to transact any business that is not part of prayer services,” Otieno says.

The Nyarongi Parish Council Vice Chairman William Obunga Ojuka says lack of a health facility is exposing faithful and those who reside in the area to risks of death because the nearest hospital is Ndhiwa District Hospital which is situated many kilometers away.

“A health facility is very important in the society yet we don’t have any. This church should have a dispensary to serve those who live around this place,” Obunga says.