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Gatanga family turns to govt over delayed repatriation of kin’s body from Iraq
06th February, 2026 02:50 PM
A family from Nanga village, Ithanga, lower Gatanga, is seeking the government’s intervention through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help bring home the body of their kin who died in Iraq a month ago.
The family says everything has come to a standstill at their home, and they are spending sleepless nights, which has drained them emotionally.
Samuel Githua, aged 35 years, reportedly died in a gym where he had gone for exercise after he slipped and fell off a treadmill, sustaining a spinal injury and internal bleeding.
Githua had been contracted by a company in Iraq as a medical officer and had worked there for only five months.
Speaking to the press at their home on Thursday, February 5, 2026, Alice Wangui, Githua’s mother, says she was always in contact with her son, but on this particular day, he did not call her, as was the norm.
Wangui said the daughter-in-law also called her to ask if they had communicated, which made her anxious.
“His wife told me she called another number Githua had given in case he was out of reach on his usual number, and the one who received it was insisting on taking to the elder brother,” Wangui said.
Receiving the heartbreaking news
“They later broke the news to us that our son had an accident in the gym, and they had rushed him to the hospital, but he died while undergoing treatment,” the distraught mother said.
James Mwangi, Githua’s father, said the family was required to draw the power of attorney to allow the company lawyer where he was working to handle the matter on their behalf.
“We sent the letter and other documents that were required, and they were able to do the postmortem to reveal the cause of death,” said Mwangi.
The father explains that the repatriation of the body is now being hindered by a lack of coordination between the Embassy of Iraq here in the country and the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh, which handles matters for Kenyan citizens in Iraq.
Mwangi said the Embassy of Iraq is supposed to send a letter to Riyadh, which should be sent to Iraq to authorise the release of the body, but this has not been done.
“We have been there several times and only told to wait for a response from Saudi Arabia, but almost three weeks down the line, no communication has come through,” he added.
Henry Kimani, a brother of Githua, said that every time he goes to the Iraqi embassy, he does not receive a concrete response and is given a new person each day.
“I feel like we are being taken in circles and no one is willing to help us in the matter, and we are becoming desperate,” Kimani said.
He said the company his brother works for has agreed to cover the cost of shipping the body, but it cannot be done until the letter is available.
“This is the document that will facilitate the release of the body and help in the clearance process, but we don’t know what is happening at the embassy,” he said.
“We are seeking the government’s intervention on this matter so that the body of our brother can be brought home for burial and our minds can be at rest,” added
