But for Gatuanyaga Member of County Assembly ( MCA) Cecilia Wamaitha Mwangi, life could perhaps be more manageable, probably better, if dusk never came.
Wamaitha is a woman under siege, and lives in total fear, not knowing when the demons that have been tormenting her for some months now will attack again. Biggest blow For some time now, she believes some individuals bearing vendetta against her are determined to eliminate her.
Though her tribulations started about six months ago, the legislator’s biggest blow has been the disappearance of the love of her life — her husband, Josephat Mwangi Mbuthia.
Mbuthia disappeared in unclear circumstances only weeks after their property valued at millions of shillings was torched. A suspected kidnap in Ijara near the Kenya-Somalia border is all she has to explain what happened, as the man who is dearly missed by his family has not been seen to date.
The father of her children, who the MCA describes as her greatest security, had gone to check on one of his lorries that had apparently been stuck in the mud for four days, never to return. He has been missing since the years began, on January 1, at a time when she was expecting good tidings; but that was not to be.
Wamaitha says her husband and two mechanics left to join the driver of the lorry and his loader in Ijara and ensure the lorry was towed to safety. “He left the driver and the mechanics at the scene, and walked to a nearby shopping centre to buy airtime. He never returned. We have been searching for him all over, but in vain,” she says. “I live one day at a time. When the night falls, I am not normally sure if I will live to see the following day,” says Wamaitha.
The MCA, who is also the Kiambu County Assembly’s Minority Leader, rose to the limelight in October last year when unknown people burned down four of the vehicles she had in her Thika home. Among the vehicles burnt was a Toyota Prado, a Nissan Navara pick-up and a Toyota Premio worth millions of shillings. “They burnt down the vehicles after I refused to come out of the house, as they had demanded.
They said they would be back since they were not done with me,” The MCA said at her Thika home. Though she appears to have all that life can offer, a comfortable home, a reliable cars and other earthly belongings, the seasoned politician cannot enjoy them. Stress and deep darks thoughts have taken over her life. Today, the heartbroken woman tries to comfort herself as she ponders her next move in light of the grave issues currently haunting her, but most of the time she hits a dead end and realises she is helpless.
She attributes her woes to a land dispute in Thika town pitting her against a person she would not want to name, at least not to this reporter. She says the suspect has in the past threatened to get her killed if she does not surrender the piece of land in question. The mother of five, however, maintains the land is rightfully hers, and that she has all the documents to prove ownership.
The tormented MCA says she has in the past received death threats. As at the time of the attack that saw her vehicles burnt, she says she had informed the Thika Police Station of the death threats. Her pleas to the Government to give her security have fallen on deaf ears, she says. “Some people have been trailing me, frequenting my hotel in Gatuanyaga and must have been monitoring my movements.
On several occasions, a vehicle would stop at my gate in the wee hours of the morning for up to 15 minutes before driving off. My life is in danger. I do not feel safe any more,” she said. She wants the Government to help her trace her husband.
The ward representative says she has used more than Sh2 million since January on people who have made her believe they could help her find Mbuthia. “Different people have been calling me, saying they would bring my husband if I gave them some money, and since I love him very much, and I want him back in one piece, I usually give them the money. But they still fail me.
I’m tired of giving out money. I have lost all hope,” the MCA said. Government help See also: Kisumu MCAs demand training for iPads use The ward representative says her husband’s phone has remained switched-off and inactive since his disappearance. Even the Sh30,000 she sent to him for towing the lorry has never been withdrawn.
Mary Kanyori, a domestic worker at the MCA’s home, says Mbuthia’s disappearance has taken toll on his wife. “She has become sickly and is always in bed, crying. She does not eat or drink and we are worried for her. We just wish those holding him could release him so that she can be fine,” says Kanyori.
The MCA has since formed a habit of arriving home early. She says she cannot dare return home late, since her assailants might just decide to take advantage of the darkness. “I have to be back home by 6pm everyday… I do not know who may be waiting to harm me.
In fact, I am contemplating shifting from this area completely. I call on those making me to have no peace to leave me alone,” she says. Her colleague at the assembly, Juja MCA Samuel Gitau, had disappeared for two weeks only to be found in Naivasha last week. Coupled with these shocking developments, Kiambu MCAs are now calling on the National Government to issue them with guns or provide them with bodyguards to enhance their safety. “We no longer feel safe.
Several ward reps have in the recent past been attacked by unknown assailants and it is high time we were issued with guns or bodyguards to protect ourselves,” the Kiambu Deputy Speaker Antony Macharia said recently.
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