I am ok babe, relax: Soldier’s last message to wife

The calls Maureen Mumbi’s husband made on the morning of September 21, last year were extraordinary.

At 4.45am on Friday Mumbi’s husband, Lieutenant Joseph Mukoto Masulia of the elite Kenya Defence Forces Ranger Strike Force, called. He asked about his five-year-old daughter Delphine who was peacefully sleeping.

“There were a number of things we needed,” remembers Mumbi, “and my husband said he didn’t have enough money on his M-Pesa. He sent me Sh1,500, for my hair, and the baby’s school bag.”

They chatted for a few more minutes, and Mumbi drifted back to sleep. But not for long. At around 6.30am, Jose, as she calls her husband, called again. “I am sorry I won’t be coming home today, babe,” he said, “I can hear she is awake (their daughter) can I speak to her?”

“Hello baba, ati hucome home? (Dad, mom says you are not coming home?)” “Yes dear, just be a good girl, OK?” They chatted briefly and said amicable goodbyes. Two hours later, he called again. Mumbi says this time round, he needed Nasenya school’s bank account number.

Then Mumbi left for the city where she had a clothes stall. At 3pm, she closed shop and left for Kenyatta National Hospital to visit a sick aunt. On the way, her mom called, and asked where she was.

“I hear thugs have attacked the Westgate Mall, I just wanted to check that you are safe.” Mumbi had not heard about it, and did not think much of it. Then her father called. At KNH, Mumbi realised why her parents were concerned.

Westgate was the breaking story. Then her heart almost stopped. “All of a sudden I saw ‘desert shoes’...I told my aunt, ‘those are Rangers shoes that must be baba Del’s unit.”’

She called him immediately. “He confirmed those indeed were the Rangers, but only a few had been deployed, he was still at Gilo (Gilgil).”
On the way home, Mumbi’s phone was stolen in a matatu. She called her husband using the house girl’s phone, he did not pick- not then, nor the whole Saturday evening.

“I could not sleep, and thankfully, I reached him at 6.30am, Sunday morning. He said, “I am at Westgate. Things are bad here. Hakuna stima. There is poisonous gas. They have heavy guns.”’ Masulia called again at 7.30am and asked Mumbi if they had gone to church. This was the last time Mumbi would ever hear him talk. At 9.30pm, he sent a text message to Mumbi.

“Am ok babe, relax.”

But how could she when it was all over the TV screens? At about 4.45am Monday morning, Masulia had called Mumbi’s uncle and announced, “uncle huku kunakaa kama hell (uncle, this place is hell)”.

Her daughter, Delphine, woke up with a premonition. “Baba amekufa?” (Is dad dead?) Mumbi trembled.

As the day progressed, she received countless calls from concerned family members. She was overwhelmed.

At about 12.30pm Monday, Masulia’s immediate boss, a Captain, called. He said Masulia had been injured and was at the KDF Memorial Hospital. Mumbi’s uncle, David Muiru rushed to the hospital, but did not get in and waited for Mumbi’s arrival. An hour later, the Captain called again, and asked to see Mumbi before she went to hospital. “I met him outside Kenya Cinema and he seemed disturbed,” she recalls.

Then the Captain dropped the bombshell, “I am afraid we have lost Masulia.”

It was only six years ago since Mumbi had met the dark, tall man at her home area in Lanet, Nakuru. He was 23, and she was 22. She learnt he was a cadet at the Kenya Military Academy, Nakuru. They started dating, and later Mumbi moved to Nairobi and whenever Masulia took a break, he would visit her.

On the Valentine’s Day of 2008, they decided to live together and in October 2009, they got a baby girl. In the meantime, Masulia was rising in the military rank. After his training at the Kenya Military Academy, he was posted to Gilgil at the 20th Airborne Paratroopers, and then on to Special Forces.

In 2011, Masulia left for the US where he trained as a Ranger. He returned home in 2012. In 2013, Mumbi says Masulia had a six months stint in Somalia, before returning to Gilgil.

Though Mumbi doesn’t want to discuss vital details of his death, the Army has been good to her.

“His remains, among others, were taken to South Africa for postmortem and the military reconstructed his body for a decent burial. He was buried a hero,” she remembers.

It is suspected he might have died when the roof at Westgate caved in. Others say he had explosives rigged to his waist, which might have exploded. It appears he was burnt beyond recognition. She has since received her husband’s benefits which she shared with her in-laws, and the Military has promised to educate their daughter. The Red Cross also gave her some amount from the public kitty.

“I wish he was here to see his bright daughter grow. I miss him so much,” Mumbi says as we conclude the interview.