Kikuyu Member of Parliament and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has delivered a moving tribute to his father, revealing how the late Isaac Ichung'wah Ngugi rescued three orphaned children and transformed their lives during his burial ceremony on Monday, September 15.
Speaking during the emotional funeral service, MP Ichung'wah shared a particularly touching story about his father's compassion, recounting how he intervened to save three children whose lives hung in the balance following their mother's death.
"Your Excellency, yesterday we had a very moving tribute from Wambui Wateri. Wambui is a woman who was the daughter of one of the tenants of Mzee in Kikuyu Town," Ichung'wah narrated.
The MP explained how tragedy struck when Wambui's single mother passed away, leaving the three children vulnerable to exploitation by relatives who sought to sell off their inheritance.
"At the time, her mother died and she was a single mother. And the mother's siblings tried to sell her mother's cars and her business. They tried to sell the house where they lived when they were three children. But my father intervened and rescued her and her two siblings, took them in, and helped save their house," he revealed.
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The intervention proved life-changing for the children, who not only retained their family home but also achieved remarkable success.
Today, Wambui works as a renewable energy engineer with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), while her sibling studies at Kabete Technical University. The youngest, who was just a small child at the time of the rescue, is now in Grade 9 at a private school in their neighborhood.
"They still live in their house," Ichung'wah proudly stated, highlighting the lasting impact of his father's intervention.
The Majority Leader painted a picture of a man whose generosity extended far beyond his biological children, describing him as a father figure to many.
"We shall all remember Mzee, not just as our father, but as a perfect father. And when I say as our father, I am very deliberate, not my father, but our father. And not our father, the children he gave, brought forth to this world, but even those many children who call him dad, because he has helped raise them," Ichung'wah said.
The late Isaac Ichung'wah was passionate about protecting young girls from early marriage, especially within the Maasai community. His home became a haven for girls fleeing forced marriages.
"Indeed, several Maasai girls from families in Narok and some from far corners of Kadiadu have been hosted by dad and mum at their home, running away or seeking refuge from early childhood marriages. And Mzee would take time to stay with those children here at home," the MP shared.
The deceased would personally return the rescued children to their families while advocating for girls' education.
"At the end of the day, dad would take his car and return it to his parents, and he would talk to his parents to tell them the importance of educating girls so that they do not become prostitutes," Ichung'wah recounted.
Ichung'wah described his father as an exceptionally humble and inclusive individual who treated everyone equally, regardless of social standing.
"A loving husband and father, a kind-hearted, hard-working, and generous man. As many people who have spoken about him have attested over the last week, he was an extremely humble and polite gentleman as we celebrated his life. A man who engaged with everyone without regard to their social status or where they came from," he said.
Isaac Ichung'wah Ngugi passed away peacefully at the age of 105 at his Kikuyu home on Thursday, September 4.
According to a statement from the Office of the National Assembly Speaker, he died in his sleep after being discharged from Karen Hospital, where he had been hospitalized for a week.
The centenarian's death marked the end of a remarkable life that touched countless individuals beyond his immediate family.
"We celebrate his life, even as we bear the sorrow and pain of losing him. But we also immortalize the pleasant memories of a remarkable gentleman, a gentleman we would have loved to live forever, but who we have now to live with the reality that just like all of us here today, was a mortal being whose time has come. We will painfully let you go, but you will live in our hearts and lives forever till we meet again," Ichung'wah concluded in his emotional tribute.
