'To my kids, I am sorry, forgive me': Woman's last heartbreaking message revealed
During happier times: The late Chuka University architect and Head of Estates Department Moses Kirimi with his late wife Pamela Wanja. Kirimi was reportedly killed by his wife before she died by suicide this morning.
"To my kids, I am sorry, forgive me".
Those are the words in a suicide note believed to have been written by Ms Pamela Wanja of Kamacuku village in Tharaka Nithi County who reportedly killed her husband before hanging herself on Sunday night.
In the apology that was seized by the police in their investigations, Ms Wanja also wrote the names of her three children – two sons and a firstborn daughter who is in Form Three.
Moses Kirimi Mati, a Chuka University architect and head of the Estates Department, was killed by his wife following a short scuffle captured by CCTV, with the footage retrieved by police.
The video captures the two entering the main gate to their residence on Sunday evening in a Toyota double-cabin pickup truck and apparently engaging in a bitter argument before proceeding to the parking lot.
The video shows the two going up to their house on the third floor, and after a few minutes, the man is seen going down the stairs to the main gate, which he opens ready to drive out.
He goes back to the parking lot, which is not well lit, and falls down. His wife hits him several times.
The woman then goes up the building before hanging herself from the balcony on the back side of the house that faces the farm.
All this time, their domestic helper, who declined to speak to the media, and the three children were in their bedrooms.
Shouted at each other often
The worker told residents that she overheard the two arguing in their room but she did not dwell on it as the couple shouted at each other often.
Ms Charity Karimi, a friend of Mr Mati, said she and the couple had attended the same church for several years and she did not know about their domestic differences.
At around 8am on Monday, Mr Jasper Murangiri, who worked at a building site belonging to Mr Kirimi, came for the keys but could not find them where they were usually kept.
Mr Murangiri told the media that he called the domestic helper, who was still in the house with the children, but she did not know where the keys were.
He called Mr Kirimi but his phone was off. That is when the couple’s eight-year-old son went downstairs to check whether his father had left the keys in the vehicle, only to find him lying dead and chickens feeding on his brain.
“I thought he was still asleep and that is why his phone was off, only for his body to be discovered by his son at the parking lot,” Mr Murangiri said.
He said Mr Kirimi’s wife’s phone was on but she was not picking up calls.
At around 10am her body was discovered dangling from the balcony.
He said Ms Wanja’s identification card was found on the ground at the parking lot.
Mr Kirimi was hit several times in the head with a metal rod that smashed his head, leaving the brain scattered on the ground.
Police, led by Maara sub-county Police Commander Mohammed Jarso, said they were investigating the deaths. The bodies were taken to Lampedusa Funeral Home, next to Chuka County Referral Hospital.
“Our initial investigations show that the wife killed the husband before committing suicide by hanging,” said Mr Jarso.
Though the couple’s commercial building in Giampampo, a few metres from the Meru-Nairobi highway, is incomplete, they had finished the self-contained houses where the two lived with their children.
The couple were also building a home in Mikuu village, not far from the scene.
Chuka University administrators sent condolences to the family and encouraged members of staff with family disputes to seek counselling before things get out of hand.
Until his death
"The university management has learned with great sadness and sorrow of the passing on of Arch. Moses Kirimi Mati who until his death this Monday was the university's Architect and Head of the Estates Department," said Prof Henry M' Ikiugu, deputy vice-chancellor for administration, finance planning and development, in an internal memo.
Family and friends of the couple told the media that the two had been having domestic differences for a long time.
“Kirimi was a well-respected person and though he used to have domestic issues with the wife, he made sure that very few people knew [about them],” said Mr John Kithaka, a friend of the couple.
Residents said Mr Kirimi attended Sunday service at a church near Chuka University and the couple were later seen at a prominent hotel in Marima market full of joy.
Mr Kirimi was a well-known architect in the region, especially because of the modern Chuka University buildings that he designed.
