People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua is mourning the death of her father, Mwalimu Jackson Karua, after spending time with him in Kirinyaga earlier on Sunday.
Karua announced his death on September 27, saying she had visited her father alongside her siblings before travelling back to Nairobi.
During the visit, the family sang one of his favourite gospel hymns. Karua said they did not know it would be their final time together.
“On my way back to Nairobi, I received the news that my beloved father had breathed his last,” she said.
Karua said she was grateful to have spent those final moments with her father and to have sat beside him shortly before his death.
Remembering a father and teacher
In her tribute, Karua described Jackson as a teacher and a principled man who placed importance on education, character and doing what was right.
She also recalled his support throughout her life, from her school years and legal career to her time in public life.
“My father believed in me long before I had achieved anything worth celebrating,” Karua said.
She described him as a constant source of encouragement and support, saying his presence remained important throughout the different stages of her life.
For Karua and her family, she said, he was more than a teacher and community figure. He was a loving and dependable father who remained present in the lives of his children.
Karua said the lessons her father taught the family would remain with them after his death.
“There is never really an age at which you are prepared to say goodbye to someone who has been part of your life from the very beginning,” she said.
She said she would miss his voice, counsel and encouragement, as well as the reassurance of knowing that he was there.
Karua ended her tribute by thanking her father for believing in her and standing by her throughout her life.
His death has prompted messages of condolence from political leaders and others who knew the family.
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