A three-paragraph-eulogy, no speeches, no photographs: How man who drowned in Juja dam was laid to rest

Tirus Maina Gikonyo, the 39-year-old man who drowned in a dam in Juja, Kiambu County alongside a 22-year-old woman was on Friday laid to rest at his family home in Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri County in a rather peculiar funeral ceremony.

Gikonyo's eulogy, documented in his four-page funeral programme, was just three paragraphs long with the tribute noticeably missing key moments of his life such as when he got married, how many children he sired during his lifetime and when and how he met his unfortunate demise.

The eulogy only detailed the man's birth, immediate family, education and occupation. It read as follows:

"Celebrating the man who was loving and caring; The late Tirus Maina was born in February 1984 at Mukurweini, Nyeri County. He was the third-born son of the late Joseph Gikonyo and Madrin Wangui. He was a loving brother to Jedidah Wangari, the late Judy Wairimu, Michael Mbore, Joyce Wanjiru and Isaiah Mwangi."

"The late started his school at Kariara Primary and moved to Rutune Primary then Dedan Kimathi University. The late Tirus relocated to Thika where he started working as an engineer since 2006 with different companies in and out of the country until his demise."

None of the deceased's kin were introduced or made any speeches at the funeral service where also no photographs were allowed. The funeral programme also contained just two photographs of the deceased.

According to one of Gikonyo's close friends, who spoke to Nation Africa on condition of anonymity, friends and family who gathered to pay their final respects to the deceased were taken aback by how short the eulogy was and how speedy the funeral service was conducted.  

“We had done a very comprehensive eulogy but it is not the one we found here. The eulogy was only written in English, just one version, and was read out by one of the villagers. We were surprised when we saw this brief eulogy which is different from the initial one,” the source told Nation Africa.

It is reported that there was a little tension during the burial because the first and second wives were present and none of them was allowed to address the mourners.  

On the day of his demise, Gikonyo and the 22-year-old woman who was later identified as Fridah Warau Kamuyu were inside a Nissan X-trail vehicle which they had parked at the edge of the dam.

The vehicle would however plunge into the dam at around 7pm under unclear circumstances.

The woman, who was the first to be retrieved from the dam, could not be immediately identified since she had no identification documents in her possession.

The man was identified by his family moments after the vehicle was retrieved from the water when the car’s registration number started circulating on social media.