By REUBEN OLITA
July 31, 2026| The music has stopped. And for Florence Itomko Iminza, the silence is unbearable.
On Thursday, she buried her 31-year-old son, Daniel Itarukon Karakacha—known to thousands as DJ Marcoz—not with the celebratory beats that defined his life, but with tears, unanswered questions, and a grief so raw it cut through the humid Malaba air.
As mourners filled Odoot Village in Komiriai Sub-location, they came to pay respects to a young man whose turntables once brought joy to his community. But instead of a peaceful farewell, the burial became a battlefield of conflicting stories—a mother’s anguished doubts colliding with her son’s colleagues’ insistence on a tragic but natural explanation.
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
Florence Iminza stood before the crowd, her voice trembling yet resolute. She had not come to bury just a son. She had come to demand answers.
“Since I gave birth to this boy 31 years ago, I have never known him to have epilepsy,” she declared, pushing back against claims that her son suffered from the condition.
Then she described the scene that will haunt her forever.
“When I arrived at the scene, I found my son’s body lying face down. Only his head was under water. The rest was outside,” she recounted, her words painting a gruesome picture. “He had no shoes. His hat was missing. But his phone was still intact in his pocket, switched on.”
Her voice cracked as she added: “His lips were swollen. Blood was oozing from his ears and mouth. His eyes were gorged out.”
The government pathologist ruled drowning as the cause of death. But Iminza could not accept it.
“Water killed my son but not the phone?” she asked the mourners, her logic cutting through the grief like a knife.
She revealed that the pathologist had requested permission to preserve intestine samples for further testing—to determine if food poisoning might have played a role. She refused.
“I leave everything to God,” she said softly.
Comrades in Grief, Divided in Truth
Standing in stark contrast to the mother’s testimony was Iddi Rashid, Chairman of the Malaba Loaders, the group DJ Marcoz had called family since 2017.
“We are 12 loaders, but now we remain 11,” Rashid said, his voice heavy with loss.
He insisted DJ Marcoz had epilepsy—and that this wasn’t the first tragedy narrowly averted.
“This was the fourth time he experienced such an episode. On the previous three occasions, we rescued him from the same stream,” Rashid explained. “This time he crossed to the opposite side, making it difficult for us to trace him in time.”
Rashid bristled at suggestions of foul play among the group.
“We are town hustlers, and we cared for every member,” he said, his voice rising with emotion. “We cannot betray one of our own. Such allegations tarnish our reputation. Where will our children go to marry if people believe such claims?”
His brother, Aaron Rashid, described the grim discovery—finding DJ Marcoz’s body at about 6 a.m. on July 19, then racing on a motorcycle to break the news to his mother.
A Wife’s Three Sleepless Nights
For Esther Toto Okwara, the anguish began long before the funeral.
“I spent three sleepless nights searching for my husband,” she told mourners, tears streaming down her face. “I called Chairman Iddi Rashid, who told me they had not seen Marcoz since Thursday, July 16.”
Three days of hope slowly dying. Three days of phone calls, prayers, and frantic searches. Three days that ended in a mother’s worst nightmare and a wife’s shattered future.
A Call for Divine Justice
As the sun beat down on the mourners, Salvation Army Candidate Solomon Imwene delivered a sermon titled “Jua la Haki”—The Sun of Righteousness.
His message cut through the confusion, offering spiritual solace to a community in turmoil.
“Those who harass others or commit all kinds of sins should know that they will ultimately face God’s judgment,” Imwene declared. “His justice will prevail.”
He urged the grieving crowd to embrace righteousness and trust in divine justice, even when earthly answers remain elusive.
Leaders Offer Condolences—and Campaign Promises
The burial drew a host of political figures, including Deputy Speaker Ronald Ochalu, Bukhayo North/Walatsi MCA Gardy Jakaa, Busia Woman Representative aspirant Evalyne Ikwii, and Teso North MP aspirant Isaac Otiang’a.
Ochalu took the opportunity to deny allegations of financing criminal gangs in Malaba Town, though he acknowledged donating solar lighting to the Malaba Loaders Group to improve security.
Jakaa and Ikwii also used the platform to reiterate their political ambitions, a reminder that even in grief, the business of politics continues.
A Life Cut Short, A Mystery Unresolved
As the earth covered DJ Marcoz’s casket, the community was left with more questions than answers.
Was it a tragic accident—a young man whose epilepsy finally claimed him in a stream he had narrowly escaped three times before?
Or was there something darker at play, as his mother’s anguished testimony suggests?
For now, the turntables are silent. The music that once filled Malaba’s streets has faded. And a mother’s tears continue to fall, not just for the son she lost, but for the truth she may never know.