Tearfully, they watched their son being mechanically lowered to his final resting place, some six feet below at Lang’ata Cemetery, barely two weeks after he was stabbed to death in secondary school.
Just 18 years ago, John Muchiri Githuma and Margaret Muchiri ushered into the world their first born-Vincent Muchiri, a child who said he wanted to be a computer scientist when he grew up, make enough money and build his parents a palatial home.
Little did they know that he would die in the supposedly safest of places - school - after being stabbed several times in the stomach and chest by a teenager who also happened to be his schoolmate.
Shiners Boys High School student Vincent Muchiri, 18, who was stabbed to death by his colleague, was buried at Lang'ata Cemetery on November 27, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation
The burial of Vincent, a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam candidate, should have happened last Friday (November 22, 2024) but with the KCSE examinations still on, the family opted to postpone it to November 27, to allow his former classmates, teachers and parents from his school to attend the burial.
Even then, a few students, and a parent, Sebastian Nyadimo, made it to the burial but there was no representation of Shiners Boys High School’s administration at the event.
While Vincent's death has attracted national attention, the family is yet to get anyone to help them with the legal aspects of their case, his uncle, Setrick Shazia, told the Nation during the solemn burial ceremony at Lang'ata Cemetery.
This hitch, created by the lack of resources on the deceased’s family, Mr Shazia said, is costing them precious time as they would want to make sure all stones of mystery surrounding their loved one’s death, are turned, the truth unravelled and the perpetrator(s) convicted and sentenced accordingly.
Despite the saddening reality that she will never get to see her son run to her when she comes back home, Ms Muchiri mastered the courage to eulogise her late teenager. She revealed that she had just spoken to him three days before he breathed his last.
Vincent, she narrated, was a very hardworking boy, affable but introverted, kind and always looked out for the interest of others, particularly those he cared about.
Accounts from students who witnessed the gruesome fight that led to his death revealed that the young man bore the brunt of trying to help his friend, whose thigh was slashed by another student, who turned on him moments later, ending his life and turning his heroic actions tragic.
For now, the student remains the prime suspect in Vincent's murder and is in police custody, along with several other students who have been selected to assist the police in their investigation.
"I still remember when I received the phone call from my husband telling me that Vincent was dead. I did not believe the news and started to cry. It took me a long time to accept it and the first thing I did was to make plans to travel back to Kenya," said Ms Muchiri, who has been working in Dubai for the past five years.
Her desire to ensure that her children, Vincent and her second born, Mark Muchiri, had the best life they could afford and excelled in their education fuelled her decision to look for work in the Middle East.
Margaret Muchiri (centre) attending the burial of her son Vincent Muchiri aged 18 years old at Lang'ata Cemetery on November 27, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation
Initially, she worked in Lebanon for three years in 2016, returned to Kenya for seven months and in 2019 returned to Dubai where she stayed until her son's death.
"Vincent used to call me to know how I was and remind me of the things they wanted so I could send them money. The last time we spoke, he told me he could not wait to finish school so he could get a driver's licence and study computers," she said.
Now, with his untimely death, his plans have died with him, the grieving mother said, asking for prayers. Secondly, she demanded justice for her son and urged the police investigating the matter to ensure that whoever is found guilty of Vincent's death pays dearly.
Though he bravely spoke of his son with a half-smile, Mr Muchiri could not hide the despondency that clouded his heart as he crouched beside Vincent's fresh grave, hot tears running down his cheeks.
He mumbled words as he stared at the cross with his son's name on it. You would think he was having a typical conversation with the deceased. The conversation continued long after everyone else had left the cemetery until his friend picked him up and urged him to stay strong and committed.
"Vincent was a very good boy. The last time he left home, he told me he was going to do his best, pass his exams and study computer science. Little did I know that was the last time I would see his smile," he said.
As painful as it is, Mr Muchiri prays that his son's death will be the last in learning institutions, which he says should be the safest place for learners, especially those still under the care of their parents or guardians.
"Now that I am done with the funeral, I will concentrate on the court case. I want justice for my son. The only request we have as a family is to get a lawyer to help us on this journey. We have no money to afford one now after spending everything we had on the funeral, but we will look for whatever we can get and pay whoever will help us," he said.
Mr Nyadimo, whose son has just completed Form One and is about to start Form Two, said the parents were not yet assured of their children's safety and wanted the school to give them a full account of what led to Vincent's death.
"We do not feel comfortable sending our children to school there. We want the school to call us (parents) and explain what happened. We want the full report from the police who are investigating this case. The Ministry of Education has been involved in the investigation, but we are yet to receive an official report," he said.
As the 18-year-old rests eternally, some eight students, including his classmates who were arrested, and taken into police custody from where they did their exams, now await court proceedings on their case to continue.
