This archive report was first published on 22 August 2021.
On August 8, 2021, the bodies of four young men, including two brothers, Fredrick Mureithi and Victor Mwangi, were taken to the City Mortuary in Nairobi after they were lynched by herders who mistook them for cattle rustlers.
Their mother, Lucy Wanjiru, who works in the UK, had been trying to reach them through social media networks but was unsuccessful. She had relocated to the UK in 2018 and had always communicated with her children through social media platforms.
Wanjiru revealed that she felt something was not right and decided to fast, praying for her sons' protection. She said, 'I could feel in my spirit something was not going on well. I prayed and told God to protect you. I also fasted.'
After several unsuccessful attempts to reach her sons, Wanjiru involved her parents, friends, and pastor. She had spoken to them earlier, and Fredrick had told her he would go to church, while Victor had dedicated the day to his birthday.
Wanjiru recalled their last conversation, saying, 'I remember they said a prayer for me and asked God to bless me. Victor, who could irritate me from time to time, said I was a beautiful mother.'
However, she warned Victor about being careful, as he had reportedly escaped death several times before his murder. The deflated woman, who has now been left without a child, wished the worst for the killers of her sons.
She added that life would never be the same again without the two young men, who were running her projects in Kenya. Wanjiru concluded her emotional tribute, saying, 'If tears could bring you back, I have cried for you, if words would bring you back, I have tried. Words cannot express my loneliness and this painful experience.'
