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The Family Of Late Magara Speaks Of CID Harassment
- Details
- Published on Monday, 23 July 2007 00:45
Mama Marcella is embittered by recent harassment by Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers and the government. Outside their house at the top of the hill, Marcella and Sospeter Magara pensively stare at the horizon. The undulating hills and green vegetation which go as far as the eye can see is a testimony of the rain that is pouring in the region.
The deep green maize with beautiful tussles indicate a bountiful harvest soon. And it would be even more plentiful but for the funeral fracas that led to a stampede through the farm, ruining the crop.
Nearby is the fresh grave of their third born son, Enock Nyankieya Magara. The bouquets of flowers on the surface are still bright. Contractors are busy finishing the storeyed house the MP was putting up before his demise in a road accident. We scale the steep ascent to where the old couple is seated. A brief introduction does not convince mama Marcella Nyaseta, 70, that we come in good faith.
"They could be camouflaged spies from the government who want to know our stand about our son's death and use the information to harass us," she tells her husband softly. But mzee Magara, 83, a former court interpreter, understands our mission and explains to his wife.
With this reassurance, she pours out her heart, the pain of losing her son almost palpable. "It is very bad to use our son's death as an excuse to harass our friends and relatives. It really hurts. We wish they would leave him to rest in peace," says Marcella.
Sospeter, who had gone for treatment at Itierio in Suneka (a few kilometres from his home) when news of his son's death reached him, says he is apolitical and his family should be left to reconstruct their lives. He adds that his late son's allies are hiding from CID officers for fear of being victimised and arrested. "Local politicians are also threatening them to either change their political stand or face the music. This harassment is a bad reflection on our clan. They are spoiling our reputation," says the senior Magara.
The late Magara's younger brother, Shem, also an advocate, passionately appeals to the government to leave them alone to mourn their brother. "There is a businessman at Nyachenge (a shopping centre about 2km from the home) who has closed his shop because of this fear. He is losing a lot of money and this is depleting his source of livelihood. Some teachers, too, fear going to school. All this is affecting many people in the clan."
But what irritates Shem most is the fact that politicians used the chaos at his brother's funeral to hurl insults at the family. "How can someone say that stones were ferried here in readiness to attack Minister Sam Ongeri?" Pointing at the stoney ground, the heap of blocks and chips near his late brother's house - which is still under construction - he asks, "Surely, how can they say these falsehoods about our family?
The malice, he says, will not cow them, nor make their friends change their political stand. Instead, "we will become stronger and fight to the bitter end". Daniel Ombasa, an advocate and classmate of the late Magara in India, is bitter that his friend's death was followed with an onslaught on his supporters. Daniel was at the funeral and watched the unfolding events with disbelief.
The feeling that the MP's death could have been masterminded by people who allegedly followed him for days must have charged the mourners to view the government with hostility during the burial day.
"The mourners booed and jeered all the people associated with the government. Legislator Chris Obure, who did not respond to the taunts, was not attacked but Mr. Ongeri's insults infuriated the mourners, who threw stones at him. And it is morally wrong to intimidate innocent people after such an incident," says Daniel.
Another brother to the late parliamentarian, Mr. Titus Magara, says the loss of his brother was a terrible blow to the family. The parents, he adds, were overtly affected as he was the one based at home.
"We live outside Kisii and my brother was the only one who was in daily touch with my parents. Harassment compounds this loss." Titus wonders why the government doesn't swiftly move in to arrest culprits when other MPs are beaten. "We ask the government to give us a break to mourn our brother. I assure those celebrating what has happened to us that we won't compromise our brother's stance. We will live up to his expectations and we are all ready to die if that is what it will take to maintain his ideals."
Instead of victimising some people, the government should explain the mysterious circumstances surrounding the MP's death. The late Magara was trailed many times before his death, he says. "We are doing our own private investigations and, until they are completed, I request the government to understand that we are in pain. It should stop making a big deal over my brother's funeral by taking revenge on political rivals."
He discloses that some people suspected to be security officers went to the late MP's house in Nairobi on Monday (November 20) at 2 am and forced their way into the compound despite the watchman's pleas that there was no one in the house. "When they confirmed that there was actually nobody in the house, the four men left after insulting the watchman: "Jinga wewe, unafikiria utatuzuia kufanya kazi yetu? Funga mlango!" (You fool. You can't stop us from doing our work. Close the door.)
Titus says: "We deserve security, like any other citizen. Why allow these people to torment us?" 'It is very bad to use the death as an excuse to harass friends and relatives'
