‘He was very caring’ – Gladys Chania mourns husband
By Mathew.Ndungu, October 28, 2022Kiambu politician Gladys Chania, who is accused of brutally murdering her husband George Mwangi, yesterday eulogized him as a “loving and caring” man.
In a tribute conveyed to scores of mourners by a family friend identified as Jude, Chania, who did not attend the sombre ceremony, promised to look after the children. “I thank God for the way your care and concern surrounded our family. We had our high and low moments but each day we held our love for each other by reminding ourselves the far we have come,” Chania stated.
“Now that you have left us, we shall try to fit in your shoes but it is already difficult to fill them. I promise to uphold all your wishes, more so to see to the success of your children. Rest in peace my love, the father to my children,” reads the tribute.
Chania, who unsuccessfully contested the Kiambu Woman Rep seat on a Jubilee ticket, is the prime suspect in Mwangi’s murder, alongside a house-help.
On Monday, she was granted Ksh1 million bond but a top police officer involved in the case, explaining her absence, said her bond is yet to be processed.
Mwangi was laid to rest at his matrimonial Mang’u rural home in Gatundu North. While such a ceremony would customarily take long, the remains were hurriedly interred in less than two hours.
Mourners picked the body from Kenyatta University Funeral Home and arrived at Mang’u at around 12.00pm. By 1:50 pm, the event had been concluded.
Although Mwangi was a staunch Catholic, his burial ceremony was presided over by clerics from Hope Fellowship Centre.
At St Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, which is less than 200 metres away, members of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) went on with a different ceremony, saying they had expected the burial to be held today (Friday).
“We had been told that Mwangi would be buried on Friday and the church management had put in place all measures to ensure it happens smoothly,” one of the CWA members told ‘People Daily’.
But family members from Chania’s side, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the dates were changed to allow the couple’s eldest daughter to attend before she flies back to the US where she resides.
Journalists were blocked from entering the compound. Interestingly, even family members and friends who did not manage to get seats had to follow the proceedings while standing.
Chania had been married to the deceased for 24 years, with three children.
Mwangi’s body was discovered in a forest wrapped in black polythene under a heap of cartons and empty, cement bags.
A postmortem conducted by government pathologist Johansen Oduor revealed that the 58-year-old died from head injuries caused by a blunt object. The report indicated that his fingers had injuries believed to have occurred as he fought for his life.
Investigators say that Chania had hired a new employee, Morris Kamau, on the eve of the murder after a John Mwangi, who had worked for her for four years allegedly failed to return home after he was sent to deposit money on MPesa.
Kamau is charged alongside Chania while Mwangi’s whereabouts remain unknown.