Professor George Magoha’s widow, Dr. Barbara Odudu Magoha, has revealed the humorous side of the late professor and former cabinet secretary for education.
Speaking at her Lavington home, Dr. Odudu revealed that the professor’s outward appearance belied a loving husband who loves his family and showered her with affection.
Throughout their marriage, she characterized Magoha as ‘forgiving’ but also incredibly caring.
“There was so much argument but when he knew the other person is down, he will give up just for them. He was so forgiving, people never knew that. If you say you have a headache (in midst of an argument), he would ask if you got your medicines and the case would be closed,” she said.
“He would say, ‘these are my reservations, if you can work on this, we can be fine…if not, we leave it that’,” she explained how Magoha would rise through marital conflicts with the purpose of creating calm and ensuring peace for the other party.
Dr. Odudu recalled a time when she gave birth to Dr. Michael Magoha but was suffering from high blood pressure and was unable to breastfeed him like other moms.
She reminisces about how the late CS had to get up early every day to make six liters of juice.
“When I was pregnant with my son, I was in between life and death with my blood pressure…he told me that this is what pregnancy is all about. When I had my son, because of the blood pressure I didn’t have milk…By 6:30 am I always had six litres of fruit juice squeezed by him every morning before going to work,” she said.
As Dr Odudu expressed her grief following the demise of her beloved husband who succumbed to cardiac arrest, she said they had a cordial relationship that saw each support the other throughout their life endeavours.
“He was very supportive, I supported him and he appreciated it. That appreciation was so much and made me move a step further. If I had to sandal on one foot the whole night for him to achieve what he wanted the following morning…I would do it. Cause when it was over, he would come back and say, without you, I would never have done it,” stated Dr Odudu.
She added: “Saying I miss him is an understatement because we used to work like two major generals, we used to say he was commanding the first battalion and am in the second battalion.”
Prof Magoha died on Tuesday last week and is set to be laid to rest at his home in Gem Sub-county in Siaya on Saturday, February 11, 2023.
