Kenyans rallied to raise over Ksh570,000 in a funds drive that ended on Tuesday, June 9 for Charles Mwenda who made national headlines with a heart-wrenching story in May.
The online fund drive was spearheaded by Kenyans on social media led by Ndung'u Nyoro, with the funds raised in only three days.
Among those who contributed to the program dubbed 'Jaza Kikapu' was Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko who gave Ksh25,000 to the cause.
Well-wishers also supported Mwenda in various other ways, with one offering to pay his househelp's salary for a whole year to help the widower raise his children.
"We are praying that this will in a big way help put and stabilize the young family. Fighting cancer and eventually losing the mother of the family had not only drained them emotionally but also financially. Thank you for being used by God to touch this family in a kind way.
"Your compassionate giving is heartwarming. It's our sincere prayer that God will guide Mr. Mwenda into investing and raising his family well.
"May they make proud, Kenyans who believed in them. May they make the spirit of Madam Faith rest in eternal peace and happiness," Nyoro wrote as he concluded the funds drive.
Mwenda had revealed in May how he braved the rain at a police post for a whole night with his body under a truck after police refused to take him home.
He was among 31 mourners travelling from Malindi for his wife's funeral before they were turned back at the Tharaka-Nithi Meru checkpoint despite having all the requisite documents.
Only Mwenda was allowed to proceed with his journey and the casket was offloaded from a bus and put in a police vehicle that headed for Kianjai Police Post.
He pleaded with the officers to take him to his home only five kilometres away from the police post to no avail, forcing him to spend the night at the station until the next day when a friend came to pick him up.
“The body of my wife was offloaded from the police vehicle and put by the road. They refused to take me home which is five kilometres from the post. Since it was raining, I had to put the casket under a lorry at the station,” he told reporters on May 29.
Mwenda's story sparked anger as many Kenyans saw it as representative of the injustice associated with the police service in the country.
The father of three had also revealed plans to file a lawsuit against the State at the Meru Law Courts for alleged mistreatment.
