Mary Tuju lauded as caring matriarch who loved peace

Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju during the burial of his mother, Mary Ogola Odiyo Tuju. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju's mother, Mary Tuju, was yesterday laid to rest in an emotional sendoff where she was eulogised as a loving and caring person.

Friends and family said they had lost an important person in their lives who inculcated in them the seeds of love, peace and unity. 

Tuju said the family had lost a strong and selfless matriarch, but said that her legacy grounded on peace and love would continue to inspire them.

He recalled passionately how his mother took care of them, including other step-children, and said she kept the family united and inspired them to succeed in life.

“My mother taught me love and understanding,” he said during the burial in Rarieda.

In his message of comfort to the family, President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogized Mama Mary as a hardworking community leader and elder who greatly valued and supported education.

Meanwhile, political leaders attending the funeral clashed over the proposals for a six-piece voting pattern in Nyanza in favour of ODM party candidates in next year's General Election.

The leaders led by Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli, MPs Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Roza Buyu (Kisumu Woman Rep) and former police spokesman-turned-politician Charles Owino, supported the idea and asked Nyanza voters to give ODM chief Raila Odinga "foot soldiers" from his party.