Deputy President William Ruto’s wife, Rachael Ruto yesterday led hundreds of friends and relatives to pay their last respects to the late Chief of Staff at the DP’s office, Ken Osinde, who died last week.

Rachael who represented her husband at the requiem mass held at the Nairobi Chapel on Ngong’ Road yesterday eulogised the late Osinde as a hardworking person.

She described the one time diplomat as a man full of ideas and who could make heavy tasks look easy.

“I remember how Ken helped me trace a luggage I had lost when I was visiting Germany,” Rachel told mourners.

“I am here to represent the Deputy President who is out of town,” she said. 

The DP was away in Tana River county where he addressed several public rallies. 

Shadrack Mwadime, the Secretary of Administration in the DP’s office described him as a creative person whose resilience in providing solutions to difficult situations has been in handy during challenging moments.

“One of those situations required top level administrative directives, and indeed Ken could offer the required assistance,” he said. Mwadime was the only senior official from the Office of the DP at the service.

Political heat

Notably, Osinde offered leadership when there was political heat following allegations of graft over the dams scandals and during the investigations into the mysterious death of Administration Police officer, Sergeant Kipyegon Kenei.

The deceased’s elder brother, Jeff described him as a tactful negotiator. He said the younger Osinde was more than a brother whom they shared a lot, more especially in the literary world, and even on family matters.

“He loved arts and books, and we could always find it easy discussing and comparing a wide range of authors and their work,” he eulogised his younger brother.

Jeff, who works and lives in Canada, said they were constantly in touch.

“Ken, we love you and we will miss you. Fare thee well friend. We shall meet one day,” he eulogised.

Bishop Charles Ng’ang’a of Mamlaka Hill Chapel had kind words for the late Osinde, remembering that he was the one who prayed for him when he was appointed Kenya’s ambassador to Germany by former President Mwai Kibaki in 2010.

“My friend Ken called me to break the news that he had been appointed as an ambassador and deployed to Germany. He said I should go and commission him,” said the cleric.

His friendship with the late Osinde begun at Kirimara High School in Nyeri where they met for the A Levels, and at the University of Nairobi where they proceeded to.

“While in Germany, Ken helped us to deepen our church mission in Berlin with ease, and thereafter we went into another city in the vast country,” he narrated noting that to date even after Osinde’s tour of duty, the church mission is still strong in Germany.

Osinde will be buried tomorrow (Thursday) in his Ngata home in Nakuru county.

The DP’s office has offered a chopper to transport the body to Lord Egerton Castle where the funeral service will be conducted.