Dozens of mourners thronged the Kairi village in Gilgil , Nakuru County on Friday to bid farewell to Monica Kimani who was brutally killed in her house along Dennis Pritt Road in Kilimani. Despite emotions running high at the funeral, more than 20 smart phones and several handbags were stolen by “fake” mourners who attended the funeral with the aim of causing a havoc.
According to the Father of the Late Monica, Mr Paul Kimani Ngarama, who spoke to Nation, a good number of people who attended the funeral lost their valuables to thieves.
Ngarama said that it was a “big sin for fake mourners to inflict more pain on families” as they sent off their loved one by stealing from those who had joined them to bid farewell to their daughter.
The burial was attended by hundreds of people from Kenya and South Sudan.
“Why would fake mourners take advantage of Monica’s death and inflict more psychological injuries on the family by stealing people’s valuables even before we buried my beloved daughter?” said Monica Kimani’s father.
Mr Kimani, also disclosed that he was touched by a plea of one of the mourners whose Sh7,000 smart phone was stolen.
“I was forced to go to my pocket, and give the young woman Sh7,000 to buy another phone because I felt it was not fair for her to go home minus her phone after coming from far to mourn with my family,” he said. The church leader advised those who had lost their valuables to report to Police so that they could be tracked and recovered. Mr Kimani also criticised people who printed photos of his late daughter and sold them to mourners who graced the funeral at Sh50 each.
“Many people bought the pictures because they thought it was a family project.I strongly advise families to be vigilant and check newcomers pretending to mourn with them. It was just by luck that vehicles were not stolen or vandalized. Lack of security was an oversight by us and government” said Paul Kimani.
Currently, Joseph Irungu and Citizen TV’s Jacque Maribe are in police custody as the key suspects in the murder of Monica Kimani.
