Kisilu Mutua, man accused of killing Pio Gama Pinto, buried in Machakos
Kisilu Mutua’s young brother Nzule Kitundu addresses mourners during his burial at Kitula Village in Machakos County on September 15, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The 79-year-old had always maintained his innocence in the Pinto murder.
- Despite not challenging his trial and subsequent conviction, he went to court and in 2017 the High Court awarded him Sh2.5 million after finding that he had been tortured while in police custody, allegedly to force him to sign a document that was used as evidence to implicate him in the murder.
A man who spent 36 years behind bars after being convicted of murdering decorated freedom fighter Pio Gama Pinto was buried at the weekend in a low-key ceremony that reflected his uneventful life.
Kisilu Mutua Kitundu succumbed to age-related complications two weeks ago.
The 79-year-old had always maintained his innocence in the Pinto murder.
Despite not challenging his trial and subsequent conviction, he went to court and in 2017 the High Court awarded him Sh2.5 million after finding that he had been tortured while in police custody, allegedly to force him to sign a document that was used as evidence to implicate him in the murder.
"My husband had been ill since his release from prison. Over the years, he had sought medication at various hospitals, including Mama Lucy Hospital in Nairobi. He passed away after his condition worsened," said his widow, Ruth Kisilu, during the burial attended by a handful of villagers in Kitula village, Machakos County.
Kisilu's young brother, Nzule Kitundu, said metaphorically, "We feel that Kisilu has just returned home from the many years in captivity.
Most of the mourners hailed Kisilu as a hero.
Kisilu was granted a presidential pardon in 2001.
But he remained a stranger on his ancestral land in Machakos County, where he was buried.
Although the government helped Kisilu start a new life by offering him a piece of land in Nairobi's Eastleigh area, he lives in abject poverty.
The family said the funeral would not have taken place if a team of human rights activists had not come to their rescue.
Kisilu was 21 when he was arrested and jailed for allegedly being part of a team of assassins who shot dead the political activist, a thorn in the government's side, on 24 February 1965.
A court found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
But he was pardoned by President Daniel Moi.
Away from the ill health that defined his life outside prison walls, Mr Kisilu spent his last days fighting a Nairobi church that is said to be eyeing his property in Nairobi's Eastleigh Section 3.
He had made this his home. He had also built a small furniture shop on the plot.
He is married at the age of 60 and has three children at school.
Mr Pinto's murder, two years after Kenya gained independence, sent shockwaves around the world.
It was the first assassination of its kind in independent Kenya.
All along, Kisilu maintained that he had been falsely accused and wrongly imprisoned.
But mourners heard that justice for Kisilu has been elusive.
The government has yet to release the money, the widow said.
"We will call on the government to ensure that Kisilu's family gets the award and that his property in Eastleigh is protected from grabbers so that his children do not live in poverty," said former Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana.
A human rights activist, Prof Kibwana said he attended the funeral because he had known Kisilu for many years.
He is among those who believe Kisilu was unfairly targeted in Mr Pinto's murder.
"The government should launch an investigation into who murdered the revolutionary Pinto and the others who suffered similar fates in independent Kenya," said Prof Kibwana.
"The government should demonstrate through action that it is truly remorseful for the mistreatment of Kisilu," he added.
He revealed that former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, Devolution Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika, human rights activist Gitobu Imanyara and MPs Vincent Musyoka (Mwala), Mwengi Mutuse (Kibwezi West) and Thadeus Nzambia (Kilome) were instrumental in planning the funeral.
