The late Churchill comedian Ben Maurice Onyango known to many as Othuol Othuol will be laid to rest today at his father’s home in Siaya.
He passed away on the 11th of October at the Kenyatta National Hospital after a long battle with tuberculosis that then developed into a brain tumor.
Yesterday, family, friends and fans went to pay tribute to the late Othuol at Kenya National Theater. His body was taken there for viewing and as a ritual, for him to bid goodbye to the place where his career started.
"Every artiste who has had his last curtain call, we have a huge tree at the center of Kenya National Theater, we take our departed brothers there for artistes to view those who can not make it to the burial place.
Also this is for the departed to say goodbye to the art they started from." Jalang'o informed us on The Morning Kiss.
As we mourn him, his family has paid a moving tribute to him.
Here is a poem that was read at his funeral service.
“His Journey’s Just Begun
Don’t think of him as gone away
his journey’s just begun,
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.
Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched…for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.
He is Gone (Remember Me)
You can shed tears that he is gone,
Or you can smile because he lived,
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared,
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on,
You can cry and close your mind be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes,
love and go on.”
May his soul rest in peace.