Saw death coming: Slain officer called family hours before his death in recent Garissa attack

 The late Tony Otieno

 

On that fateful day, the 21-year-old called his sister and gave her a disturbing message Kin feeling let down by the State because their son was posted in a volatile area yet he was still new in the police force

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One of the five police officers killed by Al-Shaabab terrorists in Garissa a few days ago, had a premonition of his death.

On that fateful day, 21-year-old Tony Otieno, who was stationed at Bodhai Police station, had on August 15, made an unusual call to his sister who lives with their parents in Kisumu’s Nyalenda Estate.

After exchange of pleasantries, with a shaky voice, he told the young Stacy; “Tell mum to take good care of the children.” He then hang up. That was 9am.

That same day, there was tension in Kisumu as Kenyans waited eagerly for National Super Alliance (NASA) flagbearer Raila Odinga to make a major announcement.

 Stacy shared with her mother Mary Auma, about the subject of the phone conversation. The mother was livid.

“It was never common for Otieno to communicate to me through another person, so when she told me that he said I take care of the children, I was surprised,” said the mother.

Auma immediately called Otieno, who is the first-born son, demanding an explanation why he had to utter such sensitive words to his younger sister.

Otieno apologised, but appeared to be in a foul mood from his tone.

“After the short conversation, I picked earphones from my daughter and tuned in to the tunes. I did not want to miss a thing from the NASA press briefing,” says Auma.

By that time, the tension in town was palpable.

After hours of endless waiting, it was announced that NASA had postponed the announcement to the following day.

Auma felt relieved, but just before she could give her daughter back the earphones, she heard of some disturbing breaking news.

Five officers had been killed in Garissa by suspected Al Shabaab militia. She knew that her son was part of that battalion.

But like any mother, she hoped that her son was safe.

The radio announcer went ahead to mention Bodhai Police Station, which was no doubt her son’s work station. She immediately panicked.

 John Kabisai and his wife Mary Auma look through their son’s photo album

“I tried to call Otieno, but the call was not going through. I called one of his friends who confirmed that the attack had happened, but they could not confirm if my son was among the victims,” she narrates.

After few hours, Otieno’s father John Kabisai received a call confirming that in fact their son had perished in the attack.

He however kept the information from the wife who was making frantic calls to friends and relatives. He finally told her after she appeared settled. She was heartbroken.

Had big dreams

According to Kabisai, his son who had served for barely two years was killed when they were ambushed together with four others during a patrol in Garissa.

The mother is still in shock.

“I could not believe the information, until I went to Nairobi yesterday to identify the body, and ascertain that my son was actually dead,” says the shaken mother.

Yesterday, the couple spent the day pondering what next.

Auma says her son had big plans. Not only had he just graduated from the university, but he had also asked his parents to identify a parcel of land where he was planning to build a home so that he moves his family from Nyalenda slums.

Born in 1996, Otieno’s star was just starting to shine, when the brutal hand of death death came calling.

Otieno sat his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education at Onjiko Secondary School in Nyando in 2013, before resorting to contractual jobs in town.

To survive, he did menial jobs here and there and was able to save up some money which he used to enrol for a diploma in Management at the Kenya Institute of Management.

He tried his luck in the police service in 2015, and was accepted.

After the training, he was posted to Garissa, where he had been serving until his death.

For some reason, his parents were always concerned about his safety.

“I had once tried to convince him to consider a transfer from Garissa because the area was volatile, especially with the Al Shabaab threats, but every time we had that conversation he would tell me that it was impossible since he had just stayed in the station for a short time,” says Auma.

As the family begins funeral arrangements, they feel let down by the Government.

“This boy was so young, direct from training and I think it was not wise having him posted in such volatile areas. The police service need to make some considerations in their posting,” says Kabisai.