Michael Kimani’s family was already deep in grief when a knock at the door shattered what little stability they had left.
The 17-year-old from Ruiru had not even had time to bury his mother before he was allegedly thrown to his death from the ninth floor of an Airbnb in Gwakairu on November 5, just four days after she died.
His mother passed away on Sunday, November 1. By Thursday night, Michael was gone too.
The family now faces the unbearable task of preparing two funerals, with both set to take place on Friday, November 13, in Maragua, Murang’a County.
The Night Michael Left Home
His sister recalls that he had spent that Saturday morning talking with her about visiting a family in mourning. Michael had initially planned to go alone, but she encouraged him to take a friend along, suggesting a boy named Karanja.
He agreed and left home at around 9:30 am. That was the last conversation the two siblings ever had.
Michael had gone out partly to be there for Karanja, whose mother had also recently died. That evening, the two boys accompanied a girl who had been invited to an Airbnb room at midnight. It was inside that room that a confrontation reportedly broke out.
The following morning, Michael’s sister had just woken up and was cleaning the house when she heard a knock. Two young men stood at the door.
When she asked whether Michael was home, they went quiet before telling her he was dead. She says she could not make sense of what they were telling her, pressing them repeatedly on how they could possibly know where he had gone, only to be told again that he had already died.
What Police Found at the Scene
Investigators who arrived at the Gwakairu Airbnb found Michael wearing only bloodstained shorts, a detail that has raised serious concerns about what may have happened inside the room before he allegedly fell.
Blood was also found on the walls and bedsheets, suggesting he may have been assaulted before being thrown from the building.
Police have since arrested a prison officer attached to Ruiru Prison who reportedly booked the room where Michael died. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
The family, still raw from losing their mother less than a week earlier, is now left to mourn a son and a sibling who went out that morning simply to be a good friend.
