Egesa FM presenter Joseph Mochere Atandi alias Okebiro O’ Mose was not only suicidal but homicidal, it has emerged.
Before hanging himself on Saturday, the popular comedian allegedly tried to kill four members of his family. The revelations were made by Mochere’s kin, including his wife and elder brother.
A day before he committed suicide, Mochere is said to have tried stabbing his elder brother and wife but they overpowered him.
“He was armed with a knife and had become wild as he threatened to kill anyone in the house,” said Teresa Moraa, Mochere’s widow.
After the incident, Mochere’s wife fled their home in Imara Daima Estate, Nairobi for their rural Nyamira home with their two children. Mochere’s brother, who had gone to reconcile the two, also left and returned to his own home.
“I would be preparing to bury five people in my compound had it not been for the intuition of his wife and his brother, who had gone to negotiate for peace in the family,” Mochere’s father Atandi Rabera was quoted by Standard.
He added: “They only came to me once in the past when they had a crisis. I advised them to go to a Catholic priest and get counselling and prayers. I have not heard of any incident from them since.”
According to Mochere’s younger brother, Daniel Ombwori, the couple’s marriage had been troubled for the last four years, with the comedian being accused of having extra-marital affairs since his rise to celebrity status.
Before hanging himself in his home, Mochere reportedly penned a suicide note addressed to his wife stating she had blocked his calls and texts, which he took to mean was the termination of their marriage.
“I have been patient enough but you have been stressing me for nothing. Take those children and look for another father who is not immoral and who has never seduced any lady. Goodbye,” the note read.
Mochere becomes the second Egesa FM presenter to take his own life after William Tolbert jumped from a building in Nairobi ten years ago due to love-related depression.
