Mr Francis Maingi Mwaura. He was one of three men who were gunned down mysteriously by unknown men in Mutoho, Murang'a County, on September 9, 2024.
Francis Maingi Mwaura was among three unidentified men who were gunned down in Mutoho village last week. If you hadn't read our initial coverage of the story, you can do so here. After days of remaining unknown, the three men were later identified. Read about it here.
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By the time Francis Maingi Mwaura became an adult, it appears he had firmly decided that he desired no peace.
Like in the La Prière du Para (The Paratrooper's Prayer), a poem by late French serviceman Andre Zirnheld who asks God to grant him a life of turmoil and disquietude in plenty, Maingi's life drew parallels as one of risk and anguish.
By the time he turned 19, he was already known as an outlaw in his native Maragi village owing to several brushes with law.
According to his aunt Jane Wanjiru Maingi, he was a jovial, hardworking and well-meaning man "who the devil destroyed just to hurt his clan".
"Maingi was brought up strictly in the Catholic faith, baptised and affirmed to a point that the family had nothing to do with his choices later in life," she said.
A relative collapses in grief during the burial ceremony of Francis Maingi Mwaura in Maragi village on September 17, 2024.
He was the son of Joseph Mwaura and Jacinta Nyarua, both deceased by the time Maingi was gunned down in Mutoho village last week. According to the family, three of his brothers had also been gunned down by police.
Sentenced to hang...then freed
A class Eight graduate of 1992 from Maragi Primary school, the peak of his life in crime was at the age of 26 when he went into remand to defend himself against robbery with violence charges at the Murang'a Law Courts. The trial commenced under criminal case No. 704 of 2004 on July 26. At the time, the end of his life in crime looked imminent.
Maingi was jointly charged on three counts of robbery with violence alongside Kaberu Mugo, Peter Kanyi, RNM (initialed since he was underage), Benson Mugo Muthoni and James Kariuki Mwangi.
One victim reported being robbed of Sh1,020 and a jacket, another lost Sh1,500, a torch, wrist watch, three hens and a cockerel. The three were also accused of stealing Sh2,000 from another local. The victims said they suffered limb fractures and panga cuts from the attack.
Since the night was rainy, police officers responding to their distress calls said they followed the criminals' muddy footprints to a house in nearby Makuyu Market, leading to the arrest of the suspects who were holed up in a single room.
They were found guilty by Principal Magistrate G.K. Mwaura who sentenced Maingi and his colleagues to death, with the exception of the minor (15-years-old) who was committed to serve three years at Shimo la Tewa Prison.
But they were back in court in 2018 to plead for leniency. The convicts consolidated their appeals and filed them at a court in Nyeri. Here, they pleaded with Justice Kanyi Kimondo, telling him that they had reformed and learnt useful trades in prison that included carpentry and upholstery.
He agreed, and reduced their sentences from death to 20 years.
"I have considered the original mitigation and fresh clamour for clemency. The petitioners were first offenders that engaged in an orgy of violence during the robbery...but considering the extenuating and aggravating factors, the period spent in pre-trial and post-sentence custody, I re-sentence each to 20 years imprisonment counting from March 3, 2005, the date of their original conviction," Justice Kimondo ruled on June 4, 2019.
It wasn't long before they were back on the streets. They were released on parole in 2020 and Maingi, according to police, immediately returned to a life of crime.
Life after release
In 2021, police declared him wanted in connection with a spate of robberies in towns along the Thika Superhighway. His gang's hiding places were reportedly in Thika, Kenol, Sabasaba, Maragua and Mukuyu markets.
An intelligence report dated April 16, 2021, stated that "Maingi has 12 concubines (all named in full), prefers moving around on motorbikes, moves around starting 8pm and by 4am he is safely indoors".
Another intelligence report dated June 21, 2023, indicated that "Maingi was leading a gang of about 16 members connected to about 53 criminal heists in two years and operating in Kiambu and Murang'a counties...in the process accumulating considerable wealth in the magnitude of several millions invested in parcels of land in the outskirts of Thika town."
Our inquiries from Kiambu and Murang'a County security committees indicate that by the time Maingi was gunned down, nine of his gang members had already been executed: five in Kiambu and four in Murang'a. Three other associates are currently in jail.
"The death of the three that included Mr Maingi leaves only one member of his gang alive and in hiding, with a warrant of arrest already issued by Kigumo courthouse," a senior police source told the Nation.
Wife: 'My husband was a hustler'
The burial ceremony of Francis Maingi Mwaura in Maragi village on September 17, 2024.
While it's not clear what happened between the time of Maingi's release and the day he was shot dead alongside Kennedy Mwaura (27) and Michael Kimando Maina (36), some members of his family who spoke to Nation said they have accepted his fate.
Ms Jane Wanjiru, who said she is his widow, identified Maingi's body at the Murang'a County Hospital mortuary.
"No matter how much we push for justice, Maingi will never come back to life. The best we can do is seek closure and move on with the task of bringing up his children," she said.
She added: “My husband has been in and out of police custody. He has left behind a live case of robbery and rape at Kenol...for now the best judge is God.”
The widow acknowledges her husband's criminal activity, but also describes him as a hardworking hustler "who the law sometimes pinned down". She said Maingi would sometimes part with a significant amount of cash to rogue police officers to buy freedom.
However, she wonders why his killers used such brute force when executing him.
Jane Wanjiru collapses after she was overcome with emotion at the burial of Francis Maingi Mwaura.
According to a post-mortem on Maingi and his colleagues, the three men were collectively pumped with 27 bullets that focussed on the head area, consequently crushing their skulls.
The report indicates the shooting was done at close range and the weapon used an AK47 rifle.
"Maingi is gone for good, carrying with him the evidence of brute force that our police officers have perfected against souls they could have easily arrested," she said.
Murang'a South Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss John Kanda insists that police officers had nothing to do with the deaths. However, he noted that "all three were roaming criminals specialising in robberies and rape."
Maingi leaves behind a son that he had with Wanjiru. However, during the burial, which this Nation reporter attended, several women wailed as they uttered his name as the father to their children.
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Tomorrow (Thursday, September 19), on Nation.Africa and Daily Nation, we tell the story of Kennedy Mwangi, who was executed alongside Maingi.
