The family of the late Wilfred Machage Kenya High Commissioner to Nigeria has revealed his detailed last wishes and his strict instructions on how his wealth will be distributed.
According to the late ambassador's eldest son, Stephen Machage, his last wish was to be interred next to his late mother at his Kehancha home in Migori County.
Perhaps in appreciation of a common trend where prominent Kenyan politicians' attract property disputes after their death, Machage indicated that all his material wealth must be transferred to his wife, Claris Machage.
The family however did not disclose the value of the property the ambassador left behind after his demise despite sources indicating that he owned several estates in and outside the country.
“He was clear on where he wants to be buried. We are going to execute his wishes. He didn’t have any controversies,” Machage told the Standard.
In further instructions to the family through his last wish, the late Machage directed his family to bury his wife by his side when she dies.
The lawmaker reportedly collapsed in front of his wife at his home in Abuja, Nigeria, and passed on while being rushed to hospital.
He served as Migori's first senator between 2013 and 2017 when he lost the seat. He was later appointed as Head of Kenya’s Mission in Abuja in January 2018.
According to his eldest son, his body will be flown back to the country before the final preparation for his burial. He noted that the ambassador’s body might be flown to Nairobi from Abuja on the night of February 24.
“The country is in its final process of finishing the diplomatic procedures,” he stated.
A medical doctor by training, Machage joined elective politics in 2002 when he was elected Kuria MP - a position he held for two terms until he moved to the Senate in 2013.
He also served as assistant minister in various ministries and as a Cabinet Minister for the East African Community during President Mwai Kibaki's regime.
