Journalist Larry Madowo Loses His Grandmother, Who Contracted COVID-19

Celebrated Kenyan journalist Larry Madowo is mourning the death of his grandmother Francesca Madowo.

Madowo announced the passing of the family’s matriarch through his social media pages on Friday.

“My grandmother, the family matriarch, our heartbeat, my comedy partner, the dearly loved Francesca Madowo, has joined the ancestors,” Madowo wrote.

“I am numb. My heart has been ripped from my chest. Light has gone out of my life. Nind gi kwe, min Omollo (Rest in peace, Mama Omollo).”

The 96-year-old’s death comes barely a month after Madowo disclosed that the nonagenarian was on a ventilator for weeks after contracting COVID-19.

“Even at 96, my Kenyan grandmother was among hundreds of millions in the developing world who was not vaccinated until recently because rich nations have hoarded most of the available shots. Though I’m more than 60 years younger than her, I was fully inoculated by April because I was living in the United States,” Madowo said in an article published on CNN.

The CNN international correspondent said he had lost at least three family members to coronavirus, including his uncle.