The funeral services held in honour of Fidel Castro Odhiambo Makarios Odinga led me to pick Mario Puzo's Godfather from that special place on my bookshelf.
I juxtaposed the events of the funeral service at all Saints Cathedral on 8th January 2015 against the wedding of Constanzia Corleone. This was a funeral service where all and sundry (friends and foes) not only attended but had to be seen to attend. Not consoling the bereaved did not seem like an option. It was amazing seeing the top political elite rush to console the bereaved family irrespective of party affiliation. All media houses covered the services for close to four hours on live television on the day of the church service and offered extensive coverage before & after the burial. Mainstream Print media and tabloids dedicated their top front page stories for Fidel Castro Odinga as no editor dared to be found wanting. Accolades were poured on the departed Fidel in a messianic manner that seemed surreal especially for a person who - for all intents and purposes - was not a wheeler dealer in the political or business circles. Everyone struggled to be counted as a friend or acquaintance of the deceased. Raila Odinga - fondly referred to as Baba (Godfather) - reminded me of Don Vito Corleone and the country stopped to condole him in his time of grief and misfortune.
The death of Fidel Castro Odinga at the age of 41 is reminiscent to that of Santino Corleone. Santino Corleone was heir apparent to the Corleone empire just as Fidel Castro was for the Odinga dynasty. That Fidel had fallen prior to fulfilling his destiny was described as a blow below the belt comparable only to the murder of Santino Corleone. Speaker after speaker from the family side indicated that Fidel Castro had been fingered by unseen forces. As in Santino ' s case, the Odinga family and friends vowed that no stone would be left unturned in determining responsibility, apportioning blame and perhaps avenging the death. Don Vito Corleone - in a meeting calling for a truce following Santino's death - indicated that he was a superstitious man. That if anything should befall his younger son Michael, even if he were hit by a bolt of lighting, he would blame some people around that table. The Odinga family reaction that someone might be responsible for Fidel 's death is understandable, for otherwise healthy people do not just depart to meet their maker without appropriate notice. Whispers of alcohol poisoning are theoretical and sacrilegious because Fidel wasn't the only Kenyan who partook of alcohol or whatever substance on that fateful night.
As I watched the various 'Godfathers' come to console Baba beamed on the airwaves, I looked out for who would fit the role of Barzini or Tattaglia - the men who ordered the hit on Santino Corleone . For I am without doubt that the suspected person (if such a one exists) was among the many mourners who attended one of the many services in Fidel's honour. Having concluded that the gods had not conspired against Baba, then among those partying with Fidel on that fateful night, was one who like Carlo Rizzi fingered Santino for Barzini.
I juxtaposed the characters and roles of Kay Adams (Michael's wife) & Sandra Corleone (Santino's wife) to Lwam Bekele, Fidel Castro Odinga's widow. Kay Adams, non Italian & protestant, is referred to as 'the washed out rag of an American girl' not worth much attention in the big scheme of things. The Corleone surname is not appended to her name throughout the book just as Lwam goes by her maiden name. Like Santino's wife, Lwam's role at the funeral was simply a footnote. Indeed she did not have a say on where Fidel would be buried and neither understood much of what took place in Bondo as many of the interventions were in Luo and the crowd that came to mourn her husband was alien to her. Like Kay Adams, Lwam was very much the 'outsider' and many mourners omitted to refer to her as they condoled with the family. Lwam's achievements being that she had played her role as an Odinga wife as expected and provided the continuation of the lineage by bearing a much needed son. Families and friends need to be forgiven for consoling Don Vito Corleone more than they did Sandra Corleone for the Godfather had lost so much more.
My favourite passage in the Godfather remains "She {Kay Adams} emptied herself of all thought of herself, of her children, of all anger, of all rebellion, of all questions. Then with a profound and deeply willed desire to believe, to be heard, as she had done everyday since the murder of Carlo Rizzi, she said the necessary prayers for the soul of Michael Corleone." Kay Adams accepted her fate and submitted to her destiny part of which was to assure Michael a place in heaven.
