A requiem mass for the main suspect in Westlands murder suicide Henry Timati Mauti was somewhat a sanitization campaign to defend the deceased against police report.
Family and friends eulogized the late Mauti during a requiem mass in Karen before his burial in Ongata Rongai.
Speaker after speaker said Mauti was hardworking and determined to do better as a videographer and presenter at Christ The Answer Ministries (Citam) church in Karen.
They said everybody in the church including the clergy, knew him by name and character. So open was Mauti about his plans that those close to him knew he and his university sweetheart Michelle Akinyi would be wedding at the very church this month.
Family and friends dismissed police report that Mauti killed BBC journalist Kate Mitchell at Ibis Styles Hotel before he committed suicide.
Nairobi region police commander Augustine Nthumbi said Mauti could have killed Mitchell – a British citizen – before jumping from the window.
Police believe Mitchell and Timati Mauti had an argument that later escalated into an altercation. When the situation worsened, she pressed the panic button.
Some of the hotel staff responded to a panic button but when they went to the room, they found out that it was locked from inside.
Security officials said they got the report at around 3:38 am Friday that an alarm had been triggered from room 810 where the BBC journalist had been staying since November 16th.
They rushed to the room but could not access it as it had been locked from inside and sought the help of a technician to force the door open.
Therein, they found Kate Mitchell lying down naked in the bathroom and immediately called an ambulance.
When the medical staff arrived, they confirmed the BBC journalist had a stab wound at the lateral left side of the neck and bruises around the eye.
Police said there were signs of struggle and on a further check realized that the window appeared to have been forced open and had cracks.
On checking through the window, Henry Mauti’s lifeless body was seen on the first floor, directly below the 8th floor window at Mitchell’s room.
Michelle’s body was taken too City Mortuary and a postmortem conducted. The body was later moved to Lee Funeral Home before being flown to UK last Sunday. The postmortem revealed that she died of strangulation.
Mauti’s family and friends however dismissed the account by police during the requiem mass at Citam church in Karen.
The family portrayed Mauti as a loving caring and incapable of hurting anyone. Mauti’s mother Monicah said her son was killed.
“He was killed but ‘I am slowly coming to terms with the tragedy. I accept the reality and forgive whoever did this to you. You have left me crying forever. But there is hope to reunite in resurrection,” she said.
Mauti’s elder brother Sadi Mairura described him as a great man whose memory would forever remain in their hearts.
“How could someone be so bold, charismatic charming at the same time? That’s what made me fall in love with him,” Mauti’s fiancée Akinyi eulogized him.
Related: Woman Comes Out To Expose Timati As Serial Rapist Who Terrorized Female Students At USIU
