Bogonko Bosire’s father dies after recovering from memory loss

Mzee David Bosire and his wife Esther Bosibori during the funeral service of Bogonko's younger brother Joshua Mang'wari at their farm in Kamuri Village ,Kuresoi North Nakuru County on January,20,2022. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

The family of missing journalist Dickson Bogonko has been plunged into mourning once again, just a month after laying the scribe's younger brother to rest.

Bogonko’s father, David Bosire, died on Monday afternoon at their Kamuri village home in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County.

The family was still mourning Joshua Mangwari who committed suicide on January 16.

"Our father died peacefully at home on Monday. It is so painful bearing in mind that we were still coming to terms with the death of my elder brother Mangwari,” said Shem Onuong’a, the family's lastborn.

Onuong’a said his death came as a shock as his father had started showing signs of recovering his health. "He had also started recovering his memory," he said.

"Our father has, in the last few days, been recovering his memory. On Sunday, around 3pm, he had guests who had come to check on him and we were pleasantly surprised when he started questioning why Mangwari committed suicide,” said Onuong’a.

The family feels Bosire's condition was among the factors that pushed Mangwari to commit suicide. He ingested poison. 

Family sources said he may have been depressed. They said Mangwari faced many challenges taking care of his 72-year-old father and this may have taken a toll on him.

"It was troubling for us to explain to our father the death of Mangwari. How do you even start explaining to him the circumstances under which Mangwari committed suicide? It was the first time he had asked about him and we were hopeful he would recover fully,” said Onuong’a.

During Mangwari’s burial, Bosire who had suffered memory loss, appeared out of touch with the event even as his sons assisted him to walk and even view his son's body.

“He has been suffering since my brother went missing in 2013. We have tried our best to ensure he gets his medication on time but it is unfortunate that he has died before our missing brother is found,” he said.

Bogonko’s disappearance was linked to his job as a blogger as he fearlessly exposed ills in the country.

Onuong’a said Bogonko was the family's main breadwinner and his disappearance plunged them into financial struggles.

“He was very supportive to the family. He gave our parents the land on which their current home is. We are still hopeful he will one day show up alive and well,” he said.