Maria Muinde, wife to the late Kenyan rugby star Tony Onyango, has opened up on the struggles she underwent regarding the death of her husband who collapsed and died in their house in Ngong in March 2020.
How death of top rugby player Tony Onyango was turned against his wife
Maria narrated keeping her husband's remains in the house for over 6 hours amid allegations from relatives that she had killed him
Speaking to Lynn Ngungi, Muinde said her husband’s death came unexpectedly noting that some thought she had murdered her husband.
According to Muinde, the major issue mainly came from her and her husband coming from diverse cultures which put their relationship in a peculiar position.
The mother of one said she was questioned about why she was growing big yet her husband and son were slimming.
“I remember there’s an incident a friend of the family had visited, that woman looked at me so badly and asked me, why is that you are gaining weight and your husband and son aren’t?” Muinde narrated.
She further said the naming of their son became an issue despite her in-laws giving approval for the child's naming.
Muinde recounted her husband's death noting that Tony collapsed and died just moments after he had come off training and efforts to revive him were futile. The remains of Tony stayed in the house for over six hours as her in-laws sought police intervention regarding the death of their son.
“When Tony died I saw some of his relatives whom I had never met some of whom have even never seen the baby and they came furious demanding to know what had happened, they turned into a murder investigation as they said we used to fight with Tony,” said Muinde.
The burial plans for Tony were not easy either as Muinde said she was almost denied access to see her husband, monies for the burial were also diverted from her to the in-laws' hands.
“I was barred from seeing Tony, it was a tactic to get back at me, they accused her of not reaching at them first when Tony collapsed instead, I called the neighbours,” narrated Muinde.
Muinde currently runs a group of young widows called Tumaini na Faraja Kwa Wajane where she offers psychological support for widows for young widows.
“My intent is offering each other the psychological support some groups offer forms of supports as business trainings but we neglect the psychological support especially for young widows,” said Muinde.
She has also partnered with a lawyer who offers advice to widows on matters touching on legal issues.
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