Exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna, on Wednesday, January 21, penned an emotional eulogy to his late father-in-law Jaduong' Benson Omolo Awange.
The father to his wife, Jane Miguna, passed away on January 1, just hours after he had informed Miguna's wife, Jane, that he was in good health.
The vocal lawyer explained how he was set to reunite with his family back on December 15, 2019, but he was denied entry leaving him helpless.
"I apologise to him for not having spoken with him for an extended period of time. The day before he passed on, my lovely wife Jane had telephoned and spoken with him. My folly was to arrange to speak with him the next day, being January 2, instead of on January 1," he lamented in his emotional eulogy.
Having missed the opportunity to reunite with the late Omolo, Miguna revealed that his decision to jet into Nairobi on January 7, was because he was planning to attend the funeral, but he was once again physically prevented from coming home.
"I have been physically prevented from attending this final rite of passage by those who wield power in Kenya; those who believe that they have the power to decide who is a Kenyan and who is not; and who can attend funerals of his loved ones and those who must be kept away with guns, truncheons, and bayonets," he explained.
"I apologise to Jaduong' Omolo Awange for me not having the raw power to attend the funeral by force," he added.
The former senior adviser to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, went on to describe his late father-in-law as an avid scholar and a vicarious reader of books, a man who valued knowledge purely due to its intrinsic value.
"I thank Jaduong Omolo Awange for having allowed me to marry his daughter twenty years ago. Even though I was a complete stranger, you listened to me and graciously granted my request," reads an excerpt from his eulogy.
He went on to explain how the late Omolo had taken up a father figure role in his life, having lost his own father months before he was born, going on to apologise to the entire family for not being able to join them as they paid their last respects.
"As I take my flight to Toronto, Canada, where I live in forced exile allow me to pay you my last respects - in absentia. Rest in eternal peace Wuon Awuor kod Gwayo gi Judy, Ochieng;, Nyangi Jane kod Eunice. Until we see each other in the other world," he signed off.
In a press statement by Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna on January 8, Miguna was categorised as an "unruly passenger" on March 18, 2018, in line with Annex 17 of the International Civil Authority Organisation standards.
"His behaviour on March 18, was seen to have the potential of threatening category A1 status of JKIA which took the country a lot of effort and work to achieve," part of the statement read.
The government spokesperson explained that the exiled lawyer could only board a flight to Kenya by presenting his identification and travel documents which could be issued at Kenyan missions abroad.
