{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Standard Digital News - Kenya : Speculation and finger-pointing dominate burial of late Kabete MP George Muchai
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Standard Digital News - Kenya : Speculation and finger-pointing dominate burial of late Kabete MP George Muchai
Anger, speculation and finger pointing dominated the funeral service of the late Kabete MP, George Muchai, with CORD leader Raila Odinga drawing parallels between the investigations into Muchai's death and those of the 'ChickenGate' scandal facing the Independent electoral and Boundaries commission (IEBC).
Odinga, Deputy President Wiliam Ruto and Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi were among thousands of mourners who filled the late Muchai's' compound for the service later followed by the interment of the late MP's remains at Kamulu, near Ruai.
Politicians, who included over 50 MPs, used the occasion to eulogise the late MP as a fighter against corruption.
"George was an enemy of corruption, but let us not talk about endless investigations. Now, we have Chicken Gate. In the United Kingdom the perpetrators of the scandal have already been arrested. Here we are being told about investigations. What other evidence are they looking for? wondered Raila.
His remarks drew on an immediate reaction from Ruto who wondered why Raila could not wait for investigations into the Chicken Gate scandal.
"I find it a contradiction for the former PM to speak of investigations into Muchai's death and find it hard to wait for investigations into the Chicken-Gate scandal," said Ruto
The exchange was one of the highlights of a service dominated by politics and raw emotion during which Labour Cabinet Secretary promised to resign if Muchai's killers are not found and claimed to know those behind the killing. He claimed that documents allegedly taken from Muchai's vehicle after his shooting had crucial information on corruption within the Labour movement in which Muchai was a crucial player.
"If they thought they had stolen all the documentation, I have all of them. If they thought that by killing him, they are going to scare Kambi, they are wrong," said Kambi.
"If the perpetrators are not found, I am prepared to resign, because Muchai helped us as a ministry to fight against corruption," he said.
The mourners who included a representative from the regional office of the International Labour organisation sat intently as politicians and family members spoke fondly of the late politician.
Conspicuously absent were representatives from COTU. Muchai's wife Susan Nyawira spoke fondly of her late husband, describing him as a pillar in her life.
"I never thought a day would come when I would see your picture in newspaper obituaries. You have left me with real big shoes to fill, but I promise that I will remain true to your memory," she said in a tribute read on her behalf by one of her childhood friends.
The MP's sister, Nelly Njuguna, moved the mourners with a tribute. "Nobody has the right to take away another person's life. There is so much pain and anger in Muchai's family," she said.
Muchai's role in Kiambu County politics and the trade union movement took centre stage as politicians eulogised the first term MP.
Members of Parliament from Kiambu, who worked with Muchai also called for through investigations into the death of the MP, who was also a member of the National Assembly committee on Labour and social Welfare.
The MPs recalled their last moments with the MP, whom they said was a friend to all. Speaker of the National Assembly, Justin Muturi called for speedy investigations into the death.
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