Grief, calls for justice as slain former Maseno University student leader Ng’ethe laid to rest.

Relatives and friends of the late Joseph Ng'ethe carry his remains to his final resting place in Komo village, Thika East Sub-County.

Former Maseno University student leader the late Joseph Ng’ethe Kiarie was on Wednesday laid to rest at their Komo Farm in Gatuanyaga Ward, Thika East sub-county amidst calls for justice against his killers, who until his burial, had not yet being apprehended.

Ng’ethe, who was murdered on the eve of Christmas by a Marimba Sacco bus driver and his conductor following scuffle after a minor accident, was eulogised by many as a statesman whose passion and dream of eradicating poverty and creating jobs for the youth remained a priority.

Led by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange and former presidential candidate Dr. Ekuru Aukot, relatives, friends and dignitaries condemned the murders who prematurely shattered Ng’ethe’s dreams and aspirations in the cruelest of fashions. They accused the police of cover up promising to follow up the matter to the dead end.

“We must change the way people are licenced to work in the matatu industry. I will follow up to see that in the near future, PSV drivers and touts must first be vetted by the C.I.D. before they are cleared to operate. We cannot have murderers infiltrate an industry dealing with the citizenry,” said 

Koinange who is the current chairman of the Committee on Administration and National Security in the National Assembly.

The MP added that the same attitude had led to the deaths of 2,565 people in the Kenyan roads over the past one year a situation he said was unacceptable.

Dr. Aukot blamed on police officers whom he accused of covering up the matter since majority of the matatus in Marimba Sacco belonged to senior police officers.

(Related story: Someone trying to cover up Ng’ethe’s murder, family claims.)

“We must condemn this murder and I don’t know why the perpetrators are not rotting in Kamiti Maximum Prison right now. We know that the owners of Marimba Sacco are senior police officers. They are fully behind all this (cover up),” said Aukot.

Aukot said it amounted to conflict of interest for police officers to own PSV vehicles, the same vehicles they were supposed to check and ensure they abided with the laid down laws of the land.

He demanded justice for Ng’ethe, urging both Inspector General of Police (IG) Joseph Kipchirchir Boinet and the Department of Criminal Investigative Directorate (CID) to speed up the investigation and arraign the suspects in a court of law.

Former colleagues at Maseno University and Thika High School described Ng’ethe as a hardworking young man who was a go-getter and stood for what he believed was right. They said that he was a focused, diligent, resilient, lateral thinker and a visionary leader who always made time for service to the community.