Barbara Odudu, the widow of former Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha spoke about her husband’s commitment to his work and what transpired in his final moments during the requiem mass held at the Consolata Shrine in Westlands.
Barbara revealed that she stopped being Mrs Magoha and became a widow within just two hours, much to her dismay.
She remembered what happened before her husband’s sudden collapse including a conversation she had had with her earlier in the day and his request for a cough mixture to be made for him for his chest.
She further revealed that Prof Magoha had told her to call Professor Walter Mwanda if anything happened to him. She did this after he collapsed in their home.
Once Professor Mwanda arrived, Magoha told him to check his blood pressure but he had a second attack during the check.
Barbara said that her husband died after the fourth heart attack on the way to the hospital.
In one of the touching moments during the requiem mass, Barbara revealed that she had a dream the following day where Magoha asked her what she thought he would have done in the situation. She revealed that she replied that she had set him free.
“It was best for you, it was best for me, I woke up and said, I have set you free,” she said.
On Magoha’s past, Barbara revealed some details on how he had intended to travel to Zambia to study medicine and how he eventually ended up in Nigeria.
She said that when Magoha requested her to marry him, her mother had a vision and that she allowed her to marry him after praying.
“When my mum passed on, my husband thought his life was over,” she said.
Barbara mentioned that Magoha was a man of God and Starehe Boys School had a significant impact on his life and the person that he eventually became.
People often said that Magoha was always planning and that this made him obsessed with success. However, Magoha said that she never complained and she was grateful to have had him for forty years.
Further, she said that marriage was not always a 50-50 split and at times for Magoha it was 80-20 with the late Cabinet Secretary having taken good care of her.
Barbara also revealed that her husband allowed her to grow and appreciated that her professional career was important to him