Okwudili Oyatanze: buried in Ambarawa, Central Java Indonesia

The body of Okwudili Oyatanze, a Nigerian drug trafficker executed early on Wednesday on Nusakambangan prison island, has been laid to rest at the Gita Eklesia Foundation orphanage in Ambarawa, Semarang regency, Central Java.

Oyatanze’s body arrived at the orphanage at noon on Wednesday. A large poster emblazoned with a message reading “Welcome Home Uncle Dili” was hung at the facility, referring to Oyatanze’s nickname. Reggae songs written by Oyatanze were played as his body arrived at the orphanage. Oyatanze was then buried in a cemetery near the orphanage.

Rina, the orphanage’s owner, said she had known Oyatanze since she began routinely assisting him at the Nusakambangan correctional facility in 2004.

Oyatanze’s coffin before the burial

“Dili was a fatherless child since he was only seven weeks old and was entrusted to his grandmother. Dili’s life in the past was quite bitter,” said Rina.

Rina said she had assisted Dili for 11 years, particularly providing religious assistance. Rina said she had routinely taken orphans from the Gita Eklesia Foundation to visit Dili on Nusakambangan.

“Children here felt close to him. They called him Uncle Dili,” said Rina.

On Nusakambangan, Rina said, Oyatanze had actively written songs both in Indonesian and English, and even in the local language of his hometown.

It was because of his close relations with the Gita Eklesia Foundation that he was buried in a cemetery near the orphanage. As his last request, Dili sought to apologize to the children of the orphanage because he could not cook for them when they visited him in prison.

Oyatanze was one of eight death row inmates executed early on Wednesday at the Tunggal Panaluan shooting range on Nusakambangan.

*Culled from Jakarta Post. Photos from Jakarta Post