This archive report was first published on 22 December 2019.
Justice James Aggrey Otieno Odek, a 56-year-old Court of Appeal judge, was found dead at his apartment in Kisumu on Monday. He was a brilliant and hardworking judge with a big heart for the less fortunate in his village.
According to his relatives and neighbours, Justice Odek was a man who loved giving back to society. He helped build churches and schools in his village in Asembo, Bondo sub-county.
His body was found at his apartment on Monday, and it is suspected that he may have died over the weekend. Police are investigating the cause of his death, and they have interrogated the two guards who were on duty at his apartment.
On Thursday, a postmortem was scheduled to be conducted at Aga Khan Hospital mortuary in Kisumu, but it was postponed due to a disagreement over the pathologist who was to conduct the exercise.
Justice Odek's elder brother, Yona Odek, said that the family had tentatively settled on Tuesday next week as the day for the autopsy. However, Nyanza Regional DCI James Kipsoi distanced himself from any directives, saying he had no information on the postmortem.
Many of the villagers believe that Justice Odek was destined for bigger things, with some saying he would have become the next Chief Justice after Justice David Maraga.
