His wife was his world Family appeal for help to fly body home to Kenya
BRISTOL relatives of a man who was found dead in the River Avon are hoping to raise enough money to send him to Kenya so he can be buried at his parents’ home.
It was confirmed that Seth Odongo Aloo had died when Avon Fire and Rescue retrieved a man’s body near Midland Road in Bath on March 27, after the 40-year-old was spotted in the river on March 8.
Earlier this month Mr Aloo’s cousin set up a Go Fund Me page to raise funds for his body to be taken back to his parents’ home in Nyakach, Kisumu County and buried.
Brother-in-law Jim Otieno, from Fishponds, revealed how devastated Mr Aloo’s family are following the tragedy, adding they now have no income as a result.
“I really feel for his wife and six children,” said Mr Otieno.
“He was going back to Kenya to see his family for six months later this month, it is so sad.
“The wife is devastated. She wakes up in the middle of the night. She cannot sleep.
“It seems like her world has come to an end.
“Because of coronavirus they had to close the shop they run in Kenya so they have no income now. She needs to feed her children.”
Mr Otieno said Mr Aloo had worked in Bath since 2014 and had tried to bring his Kenyan family to the UK with him, but was denied by the Foreign Office.
“He was staying in Bath, where he has been since 2014, after originally living in Birmingham,” he said.
“He tried to bring his family to the UK but his wife was denied a visa. He has a British passport and did various bits of work here.
“They were told you must earn enough money to bring a family over so as they didn’t meet the Foreign Office’s requirements they stayed out in Kenya and he worked in England.
“I really feel for the wife. He was last in Kenya in January 2019.”
Mr Otieno said Mr Aloo had a “great sense of humour” and that his wife Debra was “his whole world”.
“He had a great sense of humour. He would make you laugh until you fell over,” he said.
“He was very physically fit. He loved his wife Debra. He told me she was his whole world.
“Most of his family live in Kenya but there are a few of us in the UK.
“I last saw him in June 2019 and my wife and his cousin, Beryl, saw him last November.
“My wife’s sister, Florence, was apparently with him the day before he went missing.”
Mr Otieno said Mr Aloo has three children with Debra and three children from a previous relationship.
So far just over £800 has been raised towards the family’s fundraiser, so there is still some way to go to the £5,000 target.
“I have been in touch with his family in Kenya. At the moment there are no flights to Kenya,” he said.
“When the body is released they will try to keep it until flights begin again.
“We don’t believe in cremation, we believe in burying the body.
“I know of someone who did a similar thing and it cost just over £5,000.
“We have been in contact with the police and they are helping us with this.”
To donate, go to www.gofundme. com/f/repatriating-remains-ofseth-aloo-to-kenya