Grief engulfed the family of two sisters, who died two days apart on the last days of December.

It was disbelief, shock, pain and sorrow as a family from Meru county held a requiem service in Nairobi yesterday following the demise of the two sisters, Fredah Kinanu Murugu and Kathleen Nkatha Murugu.

Family members, friends and workmates, who fondly recounted life and times with Fredah and Kathleen, gave moving tributes.

“The world has become so dull without you. I hear your voice in the shadow of rooms and see your smile everywhere I go, yearning for just one more conversation with you. We had a lifetime of plans. You were my best friend,” mourned Gwen, Kathleen’s daughter.

Fredah’s son Roy eulogised her mother: “Losing a mother added to losing my aunt and grandma all within one year has been one of the most profound losses anyone can experience. I take comfort knowing you moved to a place where the time does not end so you do not need money, all you got is time to spend.”                    

According to the family, Kathleen, fondly known as Kathy, unexpectedly died on December 27 in her sleep while at Isebania, Migori county, where she was visiting for a charity project.

On the other hand, Fredah received the news of her elder sister with shock and died two days later, on December 29.

“Fredah dutifully made the long trip to Isebania to bring Kathy’s remains back to Nairobi, despite her chasm of grief that gripped her so brutally. Upon arriving in Isebania, she died unexpectedly the following morning on December 29 at Migori General Hospital,” the eulogy stated.

The two sisters were born in Imenti North, Meru, and while Fredah was the fifth born of 11 children, Kathy was the second born.

Remarkable career

Kathy was described as a brilliant and extraordinary mathematician, statistician and actuary who chartered a remarkable career spanning decades in the field of finance, accounting, auditing and tax analysis both in Kenya and the United States.

Kathy was the eldest daughter of the late Solomon Kungania Murugu and the late Emily Wanja Murugu of Naari location Meru County.

Kathy was based in Washington DC and had three children, Gwendolyn Murugu, the late Bobby King Murugu and Makena Murugu. Fredah leaves behind four children—Raymond Muriuki, Xenia Wangari, Eli Mutethia and Zoe Njeri.

Over the holidays, Kathy had travelled to Kenya from the United States where she had resided for the last 30 years.

She was in the process of relocating back home.

While in the country, she heard of children in Migori who were going through the holiday season hungry.  She cut short her vacation, went to the stores, bought gifts, travelled to Migori and threw a party for the children complete with a DJ.

Later that night she retired to bed and never woke up. Hotel cleaners discovered the body on the evening of December 27 after repeated attempts to gain access to the room.

“Katherine had no known medical issues,” said the family spokesman, John Rutere.

Post mortem

Rutere said post-mortem on both bodies has been done and the family awaits the results.

Just like Fredah, Kathy had no known medical issues.

Kathy was a mathematician and a tax analyst at Verizon Business in Ashburn Virginia US.

She also ran the Kathleen Francis Foundation in Alale, Pokot County which impacted computer skills and digitalisation in the Alale community.

 She is an alumnus of Limuru Girls High School and Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls High School where she did her A levels. She sat for her CPA at Strathmore College.

Fredah worked in the NGO world and began her career with World Missionary Evangelism and later worked with PLAN International.

She is an alumnus of Kianda Secretarial College Class of 1984.

The sisters will be buried tomorrow in Buuri, Meru.