Businessman Philip Pips Mourns Passing of Mother Ruth Oketch

Businessman Philip Pips is mourning the loss of his mother, Ruth Oketch, who passed away on the night of 3rd September 2026 after suffering a second stroke. She was 74 years old. She will be laid to rest on 2nd October 2026 at Kuoyo Kochia village in Homa Bay.

According to Pips, his mother had been ailing for the past year and was undergoing treatment for arthritis at Mater Hospital. She had been staying with him in Karen before her condition improved and she returned to her home in Homa Bay.

Mrs Oketch suffered her first stroke on 5th August 2026, attributed to high blood pressure. She was hospitalised at Homa Bay Referral Hospital for four days before being discharged. “We were doing physiotherapy for her at home as part of her recovery,” Pips said.

Pips had travelled to visit his mother on 28th August 2026, intending to stay for the weekend. However, he said something kept pushing back his return to Nairobi. “One thing after another cropped up and I ended up staying for nine days,” he said.

On the evening of 3rd September, Mrs Oketch suffered a second stroke at around 10pm and passed away. Before her passing, the family shared moments of joy and laughter. Pips recalled chatting and joking with his mother, who remembered how her granddaughter Ameerah had teased her about an old fridge she no longer used.

“She remembered how Ameerah made fun of her that her white fridge was empty, referring to an old fridge she stopped using,” Pips recalled fondly.

He also joked with her that she looked like she was going to throw her walking stick and take off running, in reference to her struggle to walk that evening.

At around 7pm, Mrs Oketch mentioned that her appetite was down. Pips’ sister Lucy gave her oranges to eat together with her aunt, followed by milk before she ate rice and green grams. “She even joked that we had given her dessert before the main meal,” Pips said.

Pips expressed relief that his mother passed peacefully. “I am so happy that my mum has passed without any pain,” he said.

In the moments after her passing, Pips said he was in denial. His sister began crying and wailing, which confused him. “I kept telling her and others to shut up and stop making noise as my mum wasn’t dead,” he recounted. “All this while I was busy checking her pulse on both the neck and hands thinking that she was still alive. I refused to believe she was dead.”

He noted that he was in a state of shock and that the events of that night were later explained to him after everything had settled. Mrs Oketch was a mother and grandmother who spent her final months surrounded by family. She is survived by her children and grandchildren.