Slain Kilifi land broker helped orphaned siblings

The family of a land agent brutally murdered in Junju village, Kilifi County, last Wednesday has called for justice for their kin.

James Kazungu Kafani was lynched along with prominent Kilifi businessman Sidik Sumra and his driver Rahil Kasmani on claims that they were kidnappers.

The three were attacked while on a tour of a parcel of land in the area.

The family’s spokesperson, Rev Rhophus Mzungu of the Methodist Church in Kilifi, said the brutal murder of his elder brother has brought great bitterness.

“Our brother was the pillar of our family and played a big role to ensure that all of us went to school, and we relied very much on him,” he said.

“He also worked to ensure that we had a place to stay. He bought land and settled our poor parents in Jibana, which is our home.”

Father figure

When their parents died, he said, Mr Kafani became a father figure for them.

“After the death of our parents, our elder brother was like a father to us. His brutal murder and the way he was tortured to death has caused us a lot of pain.”

Mr Kafani left behind a young family, with his last-born child only two months old, Rev Mzungu said.

“This family has a lot of responsibilities that even if we come together we will not manage to fully support them.”

Rev Mzungu condemned the killings and accused security agencies of laxity.

“We have asked ourselves many questions, including where the security agencies were when our brother and his team met their deaths. With the enhanced security, where were the Nyumba Kumi and local administrators?”

Known in the community

He said his brother and his clients were not strangers in Junju and were known in the community.

“It is not that my brother was a stranger. The people in Junju know him very well and even one of our sisters married in the area. She is also known. So we do not know why they killed him,” Rev Mzungu said.

“We are demanding justice for our brother and the government must find a way of supporting his young family. His children need to go to school and other needs.”

He urged police to take action against the perpetrators.

“All those who killed my brother are known. The government should take stern legal action against them so they can be a lesson to the public and also prevent further planned incidents.”

Well-planned crime

Leonard Mzungu, another brother of Mr Kafani, said that the way the trio were murdered pointed to a well-planned crime, executed by people well known to them.

“The three were tortured before being killed. They were attacked with pangas and machetes and after the murder, a boda boda operator tied the corpses with ropes and dragged them to the main road, where the public wanted to burn their bodies but some in the crowd that had gathered to view the alleged kidnappers objected,” he said.

He said the three were attacked and killed by a group of armed men at 6pm as they walked on a farm that Mr Sumra intended to buy.

As they were being attacked, he said, his brother spoke in Giriama, pleading in vain with the assailants to spare his life.

“My brother pleaded with the attackers in Giriama not to kill them and even disclosed that our sister is married in a family they knew but none of them wanted to listen to his cries,” he said. 

The matter was reported to the police at 9pm, hours after the incident had happened, said Kilifi South Sub-County Police Commander Mohamed Wako.

Stole valuables

It was reported that the killers stole valuables from the car before setting it ablaze. The items included a gun that belonged to Mr Sumra, who was a licensed gun holder.

Mr Kafani’s first widow Elizabeth Mbeyu said a relative and a neighbor informed her about her husband’s death.

Besides being a land agent, Mr Kafani was also a contractor.

“His cousin came and asked me if I knew the whereabouts of my husband. She said she had been called by a friend who informed her that my husband’s identity card had been found in Junju and that three men had been killed,” she said.

A short time later, she said, a neighbour informed her that she had been called by a friend inquiring about the name of her husband and that she suspected he was among the three men who had been killed.

The news prompted her to call her sister-in-law, who confirmed her fears and told her his body was lying at the Coast General Hospital mortuary.

Loving and caring

Mrs Mbeyu mourned her husband of 27 years as a loving and caring man who provided the basic needs for her and her co-wife.

“My husband was not the type of a man who would go around looking for trouble from anyone. He loved and respected both the young and the old. He spent most of his time fending for his family. All he wanted was to see his children eat well and go to school,” she said.

She said her husband’s death is a blow to the family.

“Life is going to be hard for me because we used to rely on him to provide for our children. He was paying school fees for our two sons so they could get jobs and have a decent life. It will be hard for me to raise the money needed,” she said.

Call for justice

Mrs Mbeyu called for justice for her husband.

“All I want is justice for my husband. The people behind his death should be arrested and charged in court. They have caused great pain in our lives.”

Lameck Kafani, 25, her eldest son, mourned his father and said he will now take over the burden caring for his mother and siblings.

He received news of the death of his father from his first cousin while he was on his way to Mariakani on personal business.

“My father’s death has brought a lot of pain to us. I feel a lot of bitterness in me. Father was killed on suspicion that he was a child abductor and that he was among those who pluck out children’s eyes,” he said.

“Even if the public suspected him to be a criminal, they should have arrested him and called the police.”

He said the killers had not considered that the people they were killing had families who depended on them.

“The killers have brought a great loss to our family. We ask the government to find a way of supporting us to earn a living.”

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