This archive report was first published on 9 October 2021.
On New Year's Day 2018, Strathmore University lecturer Fredrick Ogolla's life took a devastating turn. His wife, Rebecca Gombe Mwachongo, died of a heart failure, leaving him and their six-week-old baby behind. What followed was a series of false accusations and a 21-day detention, which he recounts in an exclusive interview.
Prof Ogolla's wife had given birth just a few weeks prior to her death, and the couple had planned to celebrate the New Year together. However, fate had other plans. On December 31, 2017, Prof Ogolla received a call from their spiritual director, Fr Andrew Massawe, who was in Uganda and needed medication. Prof Ogolla rushed to the Nairobi Hospital to pick up the medication and then headed to town to send it to Fr Massawe.
When he returned home, his wife, Becky, joked that he was going nowhere, and they shared a playful moment. However, when Prof Ogolla left the bedroom, he found Becky on the floor, struggling to get up. He rushed her to Aga Khan Hospital, where she was taken through emergency checks. Despite her oxygen level being 96%, Becky's condition worsened, and she had a heart failure.
Prof Ogolla was by his wife's side throughout the ordeal, and he recounts the heart-wrenching moments as the doctors tried to resuscitate her. Despite their best efforts, Becky had a third heart failure, and unfortunately, the doctors were unable to save her. She passed away on January 1, 2018, at 10:30 am.
However, what followed was a series of false accusations and a 21-day detention. The police accused Prof Ogolla of killing his wife, and he was detained for three weeks, during which time he was moved to more than 10 police stations. The police commandant of Nairobi, Mr Japheth Koome, even declared him a killer in a press conference.
Prof Ogolla's phone and his wife's phone were taken for forensic investigations, and three post-mortems were done on Becky's body. All the findings concluded that Becky had died of a natural cause, and there was no evidence linking Prof Ogolla to her death. The police also concluded their investigations and found no evidence against Prof Ogolla.
Prof Ogolla was eventually released on a Sh100,000 free bond, and Justice Luka Kimaru pronounced that the prosecutor was free to arrest him. However, Prof Ogolla remains shaken by the experience and is still trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife.
