Solicitor-general Wanjuki Muchemi. PHOTO/ FILE
By ZADOCK ANGIRA zangira@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Friday, January 4 2013 at 22:00
Posted Friday, January 4 2013 at 22:00
IN SUMMARY
- Solicitor-general tells mourners young man had struggled with an alcohol habit for long
Solicitor-General Wanjuki Muchemi on Friday candidly admitted his son was fighting an alcohol addiction and had sought help at several rehabilitation centres.
Addressing mourners at a requiem mass at Loresho PCEA church on Friday, Mr Muchemi said though his son was a bright, loving and humble young man, he had a long struggle with alcohol addiction.
Mr Muchemi said for the last few years, he received professional assistance for the addiction from doctors and counsellors in Kenya and outside the country, mainly South Africa.
Muchemi Junior was found dead in the family’s Loresho house on New Year’s eve.
A broken skull
He was alone at the time as other family members had gone to Rwanda for a holiday.
AP officers guarding the house said Muchemi Junior had not been seen nor heard from for more than a day, prompting police to break open the door.
The young man’s body was found in the sitting room.
Mr Muchemi told mourners that the addiction sometimes made his son unreliable and inconsistent. He said, for example, he was supposed to go to Rwanda with the rest of the family last week but changed his mind at the last minute.
Muchemi Junior attended Kent Law School in the UK where, after two years, he was diagnosed with depression which was later attributed to alcohol addiction. He was forced to repeat his third year but was later awarded a Diploma in Law for completing two years at the school.
The Solicitor-General said he loved his son and had big plans for him.
“When I was told he had not sat for his third year examinations at Kent Law School, I took a flight there the following day,” he said.
The young man began receiving professional help soon after.
He later returned home where he started pursuing a Communications Degree at Daystar University in 2008.
Muchemi Junior’s mother Eva Wangui Muchemi praised her son as a bright boy but criticised some sections of the media for being insensitive and jumping to conclusions.
She said it was wrong to report that her son committed suicide even before the postmortem was conducted.
“We have forgiven you but I needed to get it out of my heart. That was a most hurtful thing,” she said, adding the fact that Muchemi died as he was preparing a meal meant he wanted to live.
She said for the last four months, he was working closely with a reverend whom he had grown to trust and they developed a Youth Empowerment Club which he chaired.
President Kibaki, in a message sent through Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia, consoled the family.
Mr Kimemia urged police to speed up investigations into the death.
“What the police have given us so far regarding the investigations is not adequate,” said Mr Kimemia.
He said substance addiction was becoming a major concern, not only in Coast but in other towns.
“It is high time we took the issue of drug addiction seriously. Most of the victims now are the children of the who’s who in the country,” he said.
Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi praised Mr Muchemi for making public his son’s addiction.
“Most of us can never admit there was a problem,” he said.
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