“Take care of yourself and take care of the kids.”
That sms still lingers in the mind of Martha Muthoni Chege, widow to fallen KDF soldier Josiah Chege.
Chege was among the soldiers floored by Al Shabaab in Somalia earlier 2017.
In an exclusive interview at her home in Barnabas in the outskirts of Nakuru, Muthoni says they were still young in marriage and news of her husband’s death hit her like a thunderbolt.
To make matters worse, she was eight months pregnant with their third born.
Her husband died the week he was to return home, she said amid pains.
“That fateful day I saw breaking news that some soldiers had been killed in Kulbiyow, Somalia. At that time I tried to communicate to my husband but it was in vain and I knew something was wrong. Then the next day in the morning I saw soldiers come here who broke the news to me that my husband was no more,” she said.
Muthoni, who was left to take care of their three children, says her husband always told her to be strong and take good care of the children since a soldier while on duty could come back alive or dead.Life has not been easy and the curious questions from the kids over their dad’s whereabouts break her heart.“My hubby used to tell me to be strong and to always take good care of the kids. Okay the journey has not been easy but with the grace of God I have been able to cope up. My kids are young so at times they ask where dad is and I have to tell them that he went to be with God. And they are like why can’t we join him?”She said.The young widow says the feeling of her love to the fallen soldier keeps haunting her.“At times it happens, I look at the photo of my hubby and I can’t believe he died. Anytime I see love programs or songs on TV memories come back,” she says.The government’s compensation has seen her cater for the needs of her three kids and as a hardworking woman she has been able to put up rentals besides running a spare parts business.“I can say the government has stood with us all through catering for education of the kids and I have been able to put up a plot and another one is still under construction. It all depends with your focus in life,” she says.Muthoni is just one among many widows of fallen KDF soldiers who are now forced to take care of their families without their partners who died fighting for the nation.
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