Family reveals why Kirinyaga woman jumped into swollen river with her daughter

She grew up as a humble, jovial, bright, and ambitious child at Kabiroini village in Kirinyaga County.

Maureen Wangui, 29, a nutritionist by profession was ever smiling and her parents were super proud of her.

However, on May 4, she did the unthinkable, plunging into the raging Nyamindi river waters with her sickly five-year-old baby girl, Precious Wairimu, strapped to her back.

Saturday's sad events left family, friends, and villagers reeling in shock.

Later, the bodies of Wangui and her daughter were pulled out of the river by police and taken to the mortuary, leaving the family in mourning. 

The body of the child was the first one to be traced by the police and residents. Three days later, Wangui's body was spotted floating in water, 10 kilometres away from where she drowned with her daughter.

Why did she kill herself together with her innocent and ailing child?

Before her death, Wangui went through mental torture after she was allegedly jilted by her lover and her baby fell sick. She also constantly complained about the lack of formal employment.

The family vividly recounted how Wangui went through mental suffering despite being brought up in a well-to-do family.

"She was brought up very well, lacking nothing, but she had her problems which made her life miserable. We tried all we could to help her overcome them, but finally, she took a direction that left us badly shaken," said her mother, Irene Micere.

Pregnant

The family recounted how Wangui got pregnant in 2019 while pursuing a diploma course in college. She was impregnated by a man who promised to marry her after completing her medical course.

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"When my daughter gave birth, her lover used to visit her regularly and even bought clothes for the baby together with his parents," said Ms Micere.

Determined to excel in life, Wangui continued with her education as her mother took care of her baby and completed her course.

Later, she returned home and continued looking after the baby, but sadly, the child was struck by Meningitis which left her paralysed.

The baby was regularly in and out of the hospital, making it hard for Wangui to concentrate on looking for employment.

This disturbed Wangui leading to depression, the family says. Her condition worsened when she learnt that her lover had rejected her.

"When my daughter got information that her lover had married another woman, she became very bitter, she felt cheated and betrayed. That is when her condition became even worse," Micere explained.

Sometimes she would scream and refuse to eat anything without provocation.

This worried the parents who took her to Embu Referral Hospital for medical check-ups and counselling.

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But that did not help much, as she refused to take her medication.

"She told us that she is not mad and that she would not take drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist," said Micere.

"Sometimes she would abnormally keep so quiet, refuse to talk to us, and threaten to leave home for a journey of no return," added Micere.

Later, she started exhibiting suicidal behaviour, forcing her parents to keep a close eye on her.

"At one time after supper, our daughter became violent and wanted to leave home at night together with her baby. I snatched the baby from her and told her that she would not go anywhere. After my husband talked to her, she cooled down and agreed to stay at home," said Ms Micere.

Coffee farm

Fed up with life, Wangui seemingly secretly plotted how to eliminate herself and the baby as she stayed with her parents in Embu where they work.

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She prevailed upon her father to give her a portion of the coffee farm so that she would be able to fend for her child and become self-reliant.

On Tuesday last week, Wangui said she would be visiting her elderly grandparents at Kabiroini in Gichugu. She left in the company of her father. On arrival at Kabiroini, Wangui's father showed her a portion of the coffee farm and she planted trees on her boundary.

Later the father returned to Embu, leaving her daughter with the grandparents.

A few days later, the worst happened. Wangui committed suicide and murder on the same day, sending shockwaves across the village.

That Saturday, Wangui went to the swollen Nyamindi river incognito, jumped into the waters, and drowned together with her daughter.

She was washing clothes outside when she sneaked out of her grandparents' home compound unnoticed and rushed to the nearby river where she drowned herself and the baby.

 A watchman at the nearby coffee factory witnessed the shocking incident and alerted the authorities.

Wangui's parents eulogised her as an ambitious woman who knew what she wanted in life.

"Wangui was a visionary woman, she wanted to get the best education and live a life free of dependency. She did a certificate course in nutrition, then registered for a diploma course in nutrition through her efforts and completed it. Before her demise, she was talking of registering for a degree course in nutrition, but sadly she took her life before achieving her dream," said Micere.

Mr Munene described her daughter as a hard-working and jovial person.

"My daughter was very active, she kept smiling but she never talked much, we loved her so much," he said.

 Stephen Maembe, an uncle, recalled how he interacted with Wangui as she stayed with her grandparents.

"Wangui appeared okay, we talked frequently and she looked happy. She was friendly to everyone and her death took us by surprise," said Mr Maembe.

"We are grieving over the loss of Wangui and her child, their deaths will linger in our minds forever," said Mr Maembe.

 "She was washing clothes within the home compound when she disappeared unnoticed," said Mr Ngobo Kuruma, the grandfather to Wangui.

The family is still trying to come to terms with the deaths of their loved ones.

"We are yet to set the burial date because one of the bodies was recovered recently," said Ms Micere, who is a clerical officer at the Registration of Persons office in Embu County.

And as Kenyans still tried to come to terms with Wangui and her daughter’s death, another medic in neighbouring Nyeri County is said to have died by suicide after killing her baby.

The death of Shiru Ka Ribui or Mama Bella, a social media enthusiast, left many locals and relatives stunned.

Described by friends as quiet and an introvert, Shiru had consistently asked for help through social media but her cries seemed to have fallen on deaf ears leading to depression.

Before taking her own life and that of her daughter, Shiru indicated there was no way she was going to leave her daughter suffering.

Additional reporting by Lucas Barasa.

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