Emotional send-off for Paul Magu's family amid spirited calls for justice

Caskets of the five Magu family members. [PHOTO: KAMAU MAICHUHIE/ STANDARD]

KIAMBU COUNTY: In life they shared prayers, meals and tears of joy and pain.

The late Paul Magu would take his children to school while his deceased wife Lydia waited to shower them with niceties and love in the evening.

To residents of Kiganjo in Ruiru, this was a picture-perfect family that had a good roof over their head.

Finally, when the family members took the final bow, under a small canopy, they were destined to share their final resting place together, one big mass grave. The five sparkling caskets lined up under the miniature tent, shielded from the element, marked one of the most saddening ways to depart this world.

However, this is the sight that greeted thousands of mourners who turned up to pay their last respects to the family of lawyer Magu at the Kiganjo home in Thika.

The lawyer’s mother, Keziah Wambui, stared at the unfolding events, transfixed, tongue-tied and unable to comprehend the tragedy which had just struck.

Her only hope, when she managed to mouth off a few words was her ardent prayer that somehow, the truth would come out and justice meted to whoever had done this.

No words would describe what had happened to her grandchildren Allen, 9, Ryan, 8, and Tiffany, 5, whose badly mutilated bodies were discovered, dismembered and discarded in a thicket at Tatu coffee farm in Ruiru, a week after they were reported missing.

Emotions ran high and tears flowed freely as relatives, friends and locals gathered to bid farewell to the young family that died in mysterious circumstances.

The sombre mood was captured by pupils of Garden Estate Academy, where the three children went to school, who presented an emotional song to bid their colleagues goodbye.

It all started on November 23, the wife Lydia, 30, allegedly went missing and was later found murdered and her body dumped in a thicket near Paradise Lost resort on Kiambu Road. Some of her body parts were partially burned.

According to the couple’s house girl Mercy Njoki, Magu reportedly left his residence on November 25, at about 10am in a family car, registration number KAT 177M, and in the company of his three children.

He allegedly returned home without the children and later left for his rural home in Kiganjo, Thika.

WALKED AWAY

According to his brother Andrew Kamau, Magu arrived at their home in Thika at about 2pm and held a brief talk with the parents before he excused himself and walked away.

He returned about five hours later while wet, claiming he had been attacked by thugs and robbed of his mobile phone near a pond near his father’s homestead.

The following day, he was involved in a fatal accident at Ngoliba on the Thika-Garrissa highway in what is suspected to have been a suicide dive.

A driver of the bus reported that he jumped on the path of the bus. The deceased’s car was found besides the road with the engine still running.

Magu, a 35-year-old lawyer is alleged to have murdered his family after getting entangled in a cult.

He was allegedly a staunch follower of a controversial Nigerian church. Magu’s passport showed he had travelled to Nigeria more than 20 times since 2009 to attend church service.

Ironically, Showers of Blessing Ministry was conspicuously absent from the funeral, which was conducted by the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

Arch-Deacon James Kamura of ACK who led the funeral service called on the Government to conduct thorough investigations into the deaths.

“I call upon the Government to ensure no stone is left unturned by ensuring the perpetrators of the heinous act are brought to book,” said Mr Kamura.

He called on faithful to be careful about the churches they were attending.

“The followers should be wary of the churches they are going to worship since not all of them are following on the teachings of the Jesus Christ,” he said.

Area Member of County Assembly Peter Ngugi echoed his sentiments and urged the Government to rein in what he termed as rogue churches that are misleading their followers.

A woman pastor, Ann Wambui Wanyoro, has already been arraigned before a Kiambu court over the deaths of the Magu family.

In death, just as in life, the entire family lay in one massive grave, perhaps eternally enjoying the peace which eluded them in their last days in this world.