A Plea from Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia Funeral Committee

[Onyango Oloo]

A Plea from the Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia Funeral Committee

CONTACTS: Wahinya Boore (Chairman)- 0789 386 349; John Maina Mwangi (Treasurer)- 0721 365 720;

Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia died suddenly in Dal Ullensaker, Norway on January 31, 2012 after being knocked down by a hit and run car.

He is the father of musician Stella Nyambura Mwangi aka STL among other children.

Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia was among 70 or so university students from the Nairobi and Kenyatta campuses arrested by the Moi-KANU regime in the wake of the abortive coup organized by junior members of the defunct Kenya Air Force on August 1, 1982.
At the time of his arrest Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia was a third year student at Kenyatta University.

Jeff and his fellow students were warehoused for months at the filthy and overcrowded Nairobi Remand Home in August 1982 for several months. He was to be later jailed in March 1983 for six years along with Ephantus Kinyua, Thomas Mutuse, Francis Ongele Pala and Wahinya Boore. They were taken to the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison where they found the late Titus Adungosi, Oginga Ogego (who was to later serve as Kenya's ambassador to the United States) well known historian Maina wa Kinyatti, Onyango Oloo, current UASU Secretary General Dr. Muga K'Olale, Omondi K'Abir, Opondo Kakendo among other political prisoners to be joined later by activists like Odenda Lumumba, Adongo Ogony, the late Karimi Nduthu, Kangethe Mungai, Mwandawiro Mghanga, Oduor Ongwen, Wafula Buke and dozens of others.

He left prison in 1986, having served his sentence with remission. In 1991 he was forced to seek political asylum in Oslo, Norway where he lived until his untimely demise. Among the other Kenyan exiles in Norway were Koigi wa Wamwere, Omondi K’Abir and briefly, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Raila Amolo Odinga.

Over the years, Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia worked as a tireless human rights campaigner with such bodies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The Kenyan community in Norway has worked very hard to assist his family with funeral arrangements including transporting his body back to his rural ancestral home in Maragua, Muranga County. The body is scheduled to arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi at 0700 Hours East African Time on Monday, February 13, 2012 where it will be received by Jeff’s comrades, friends and relatives with patriotic songs, dancing and ululations befitting a true patriot.

In meantime relatives, comrades and friends of Jeff are meeting on a daily basis at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi and at his parents’ homestead to raise funds and finalize the ultimate homecoming of the fallen patriot.

We, the members of the Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia Funeral Committee are appealing to you, your friends and networks to assist us in whichever way you can to raise funds and other material resources to enable us to meet our goal in providing a decent and dignified send off for our departed comrade.

You can send your donations directly to an account specifically set up for this purpose at the Harambee Avenue Branch of Equity Bank. The account name is Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia Funeral and the number is 0240198805092. You can also remit your contribution via M-PESA money transfer through telephone number 0721 365 720 or through Airtel Money at 0789386349.

Yours Faithfully:

The Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia Funeral Committee:

Wahinya Boore (Chairman);
Melissa Atieno Awero (Secretary);
John Maina Mwangi (Treasurer);
Onyango Oloo (Communications);
Maina Chege (Member).

[boyengo]

Any clarification regarding this story:
www.capitalfm.co.ke/lifestyle/2012/02/16/stl-slams-claims-of-funeral-fundraiser/

[Onyango Oloo]

Jeff Mwangi Funeral Committee (Nairobi) Responds to February 17, 2012 Star Story on STL's father
Inbox
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Onyango Oloo

10:42 AM ,February 17, 2012

to williamecpike, Catherine, Faith, wahinyabore, melawero, gitobuimanyara, primeminister, railaaodinga, wachirawaruru, wachira, Release Political Prisoners and others

Dear Mr. Pike and Ms. Gicheru:


Greetings.

I am not just a contributor to the Star, but an avid reader of the newspaper. I make sure I purchase it EVERY DAY by 7 a.m.

As is my routine, I picked up today's edition and started perusing leisurely through the publication.

My heart skipped a beat when I came to the Society column on page 35. What almost gave me a coronary was a story by Grace Keronga headlined:STL: We are not fundraising for Dad's funeral.

In the piece an individual, Charles Mwangi, referred to as STL's manager is quoted as saying, "There are online reports that the family is fundraising for the Saturday burial...but we are taking issue with the fact that some unscrupulous people started fundraising using fliers and even provided a phone number. We can finance the funeral without a fundraiser."

It so happens that I, Onyango Oloo, am a member of that funeral committee in Nairobi. Other members include John Maina Mwangi, a first cousin to the late Jeff Mwangi; Maina Chege, another cousin of the deceased; Wahinya Boore, a long time friend and Kenyatta University year mate of Jeff Mwangi and Melissa Awero, a family friend from Norway.

Jeff Mwangi, Onyango Oloo and Wahinya Boore were among the university students who were arrested, tortured and jailed by the Moi-KANU regime in the aftermath of the attempted 1982 coup. We spent many years together as political prisoners at the infamous Kamiti Maximum Security penitentiary on the outskirts of Nairobi and have remained steadfast comrades ever since. This is how the latter two became members of the Nairobi Funeral Committee following the former's devise.

Before the committee embarked on any activities, Wahinya Boore and John Maina Mwangi travelled to Iregi village, Maragua, Muranga County to visit the elderly parents of Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia. They specifically sought the cooperation, endorsement and support of the parents to validate and legitimize the activities of the funeral committee. Both Jeff's father and mother did so without hesitation. It was decided that since John Maina Mwangi was a FIRST cousin of Jeff, he should be the Treasurer of the Nairobi Funeral Committee. An account was opened at the Harambee Avenue branch of Equity Bank with three signatories. This was done with full knowledge and involvement of Jeff's parents and other members of his family. All the members of the committee were on hand at the Cargo Centre of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when the body arrived on Monday, February 13, 2012 early in the morning. In fact, John Maina Mwangi, one of our committee members, is the one who paid for and helped to clear the costs at the airport. Citizen TV interviewed Jeff's father, Wahinya Boore and Onyango Oloo at the airport. This piece was aired at the 1 pm, 4 pm and 7pm newscasts on the same day.

The committee sent out a plea regarding Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia which was widely circulated on the internet, via email, blogs, discussion forums and Facebook.

Melissa Awero a member of the committee took out money from her own pocket, to pay for the first obituary notice published in the Daily Nation newspaper.

In the meantime the committee convened daily, PUBLIC and OPEN meetings at the All Saints Cathedral, not only to fundraise, but to discuss other matters relating to Jeff's burial arrangements.

At one such meeting on Tuesday, February 15th 2012 STL, the said Charles Mwangi, STL's mother Perpetua (who is actually divorced from the late Jeff who was remarried to another woman, Wangeci, who is currently in Norway) attended.

At one point Charles raised some concerns regarding the involvement of certain family members in the Nairobi Funeral Committee.

At this point, the entire Nairobi Committee offered to IMMEDIATELY step down and hand over the Equity Bank account to STL, Charles Mwangi and any other family members.

Instead of responding to this overture, Perpetua, STL's mother WALKED OUT of the meeting to convene an impromptu caucus outside the kindergarten room where we were meeting. STL and Charles Mwangi excused themselves, claiming that they had to pick up someone at the airport. When members of the committee including this writer, protested that they could not just utter serious allegations casting aspersions on the integrity of individuals in the room and leave without waiting for an amicable resolution, they simply walked out.

We did not see them at the Wednesday and Thursday meetings of the Nairobi funeral committee.

At the Wednesday meeting, the Chair of the local (Muranga) committee called members of our committee to provide updates and coordinate planning on such items as the programme, the flowers and the catering. It was resolved that members of both committees would meet face to face to finalize these arrangements with our committee reporting on our fundraising efforts.

At our Thurday meeting it was resolved that four members of committee, Wahinya Boore, John Maina Mwangi, Melissa Awero and Maina Chege would travel to Jeff's home and handover the cash collected officially to the custody of Jeff's parents and the local funeral committee. As this story broke, those individuals were already en route to Muranga County.

You can imagine our shock therefore to come across this defamatory story in the middle of all these frantic preparations.

Speaking personally, I am the one who went physically to the Office of the Prime Minister to deliver our plea. I also contacted Gitobu Imanyara among other public figures, civil society organizations and the wider mainstream media.

Now contemplate the phenomenon of these individuals turning to page 35 of today's Star and reading Grace Keronga's piece while our plea is in their inbox. If some of these people did not know us, they would automatically conclude that we are a bunch of conmen, fraudsters and charlatans taking advantage of Jeff's death for personal material gain.

We are gravely disappointed that the Star opted NOT to contact any of us on the funeral committee to give our side of the story and react to these putrid and sordid insinuations.

We are hereby requesting the Star to publish this letter as part of your paper's Right of Reply tradition.

For the moment all our energies are focused on ensuring that our late comrade, compatriot and friend Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia is accorded a decent and dignified funeral. We will explore the legal options available to us at a latter date. We do not wish to be drawn into the internal family feuds pitting members of Jeff's former wife Perpetua (STL's mother) and that of his current wife Wangeci.

Sincerely,

Onyango Oloo
(Member of the Nairobi Funeral Committee in charge of Communications)

PS:

We append the plea from the committee which was carried on Jukwaa, an online discussion forum that I founded in August 2005 and still administer. You will notice that a similar libelous story is carried on the Capital FM website in a link posted on Jukwaa as a response to our announcement:

jukwaa.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=6561

www.capitalfm.co.ke/lifestyle/2012/02/16/stl-slams-claims-of-funeral-fundraiser/

[Onyango Oloo]

demokrasia-kenya.blogspot.com/2012/02/jeff-mwangi-committee-writes-to-star.html

[Titchaz]

OO,
Mazee this thing is looking messed up and just don't get caught up in those family squabbles which are the norm during our funerals. Wakenya kweli wanamambo!!

[Onyango Oloo]

www.the-star.co.ke/word-is/word-is/63251-stella-i-respect-what-they-are-doing-for-dad

[Onyango Oloo]

A Tribute

By Onyango Oloo

[Read at the funeral in Iregi village, Maragua, Muranga County, Saturday, February 18, 2012]

We pay tribute to a patriot who gave up his youth for a New Kenya; we salute a comrade who used his mind to participate in the fight for true national liberation.

We are remembering Mzalendo Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia who left us suddenly at the end of January 2012 in a cold far off land close to the North Pole, the victim of a reckless hit and run driver.

It is symbolic that he is being buried on the same day one of his greatest heroes and our Kenyan legend Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi wa Waciuri was hanged at the notorious Kamiti prison. Jeff too, once languished in the lice infested and overcrowded cells of the same penitentiary for years for yearning for justice, demanding freedom and hankering for equality.

In doing this, Jeff was merely picking up the baton to run his share of the marathon relay race, having picked up from such militant stalwarts as the Micere Mugos , Alamin Mazruis, Wangui wa Goros, Edward Oyugis, Zarina Patels, Willy Mutungas, Maina wa Kinyattis, Abdilatif Abdallas and Chelagat Mutais who in turn were inspired by the Makhan Singhs, Oginga Odingas, Pio da gama Pintos, Muindi Mbingus, and Me Katililis.

We all fought against imperialism and colonialism; we wanted to dismantle neocolonialism. We were against dictatorship and for democracy; we opposed oppression and were for justice; in our quest for equality and social progress we battle against sexism, racism, tribalism and regionalism and promote national unity and national diversity.

These are some of the values that our brother, comrade and friend Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia stood for. And that is why we stood shoulder to shoulder with him. That is why we are here today, as he embarks on his final journey.

Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia was among 70 or so university students from the Nairobi and Kenyatta campuses arrested by the Moi-KANU regime in the wake of the abortive coup organized by junior members of the defunct Kenya Air Force on August 1, 1982.
At the time of his arrest Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia was a third year student at Kenyatta University.

Jeff and his fellow students were warehoused for months at the filthy and overcrowded Nairobi Remand Home in August 1982 for several months. He was to be later jailed in March 1983 for six years along with Ephantus Kinyua, Thomas Mutuse, Francis Ongele Pala and Wahinya Boore. They were taken to the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison where they found the late Titus Adungosi, Oginga Ogego (who was to later serve as Kenya's ambassador to the United States) well known historian Maina wa Kinyatti, Onyango Oloo, current UASU Secretary General Dr. Muga K'Olale, Omondi K'Abir, Opondo Kakendo among other political prisoners to be joined later by activists like Odenda Lumumba, Adongo Ogony, the late Karimi Nduthu, Kangethe Mungai, Mwandawiro Mghanga, Oduor Ongwen, Wafula Buke and dozens of others.

He left prison in 1986, having served his sentence with remission. In 1991 he was forced to seek political asylum in Oslo, Norway where he lived until his untimely demise. Among the other Kenyan exiles in Norway were Koigi wa Wamwere, Omondi K’Abir and briefly, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Raila Amolo Odinga.

In 1992 Jeff Mwangi vied for parliament at the advent of the resumption to multi-party rule. Alas, the old order with its class and age barriers were still very much alive and so Jeff did not make it past the nominations stage.

Over the years, Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia worked as a tireless human rights campaigner with such bodies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Like Jeff we welcomed the democratic breakthroughs in 1992 and 2002 as significant strikes against impunity and authoritarianism. We shared with him our disappointment and disillusionment to watch the game of political musical chairs with no substantive political, economic or ideological transformation.

But again like him, we retain the stubborn hope for a new progressive Kenyan future, echoing the words of our celebrated writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o:

There is no night so long that does not end with the break of dawn.


As our comrades in South Africa say:

Hamba Kahle Mzalendo Mwangi!

Fare Thee Well Patriot and Compatriot Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia!

[Onyango Oloo]

in2eastafrica.net/politics-at-stl-fathers-burial/

[Onyango Oloo]

Excerpt from Jeff's Facebook page:

Jeff Mwangi Wa-Kwîrikia
What's the point of playing lotto if you can only win 50kroner for 200kroner??-I will definitely consult my jujuman next time.
Share · 28 January at 16:49 ·
Jeff Mwangi Wa-Kwîrikia commented on ktnkenya.tv.
Uhuru and Ruto should be taken to the custody of ICC for inciting the public pending their confirmation trials at the Hague. How can they be allowed to peddle lies about their legal predicaments and suduce the public with handoutss at public rallies to escape the law? There is nowhere to hide for them behind the Hague!
KTN Kenya | Your Authoritative Channel -
www.ktnkenya.tv
KTN Kenya | Your Authoritative Channel -
Like · · 28 January at 14:21 ·

Geoffrey Ceeloh Mariga God be with you RIP
2 February at 13:54 · Like
Write a comment...

Jeff Mwangi Wa-Kwîrikia
I've opted to sleep the weekend to avoid hasira hasara with my purse-recently got lotto and can't figure out how to spend it.
Share · 28 January at 11:54 ·

4 people like this.
Jeff Mwangi Wa-Kwîrikia Opps! I just won 50kroner in return to my 200kroner-will never play lotto.
28 January at 16:42 · 1

Jeff Mwangi Wa-Kwîrikia
There is no doubt that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto are damaged goods when it comes to contesting the next elections. But it is almost certain that they will cast a long shadow depending on the candidate they opt to rally around.
Share · 28 January at 11:47 ·

Zamunda Lawyer I beg to differ.....Kenyans are now coming of age and not voting on those lines anymore if recent by elections are anything to go by....
28 January at 11:58