Kenyan killed in NZ was a man of many talents
A man of many talents, Mr Maina was a businessman, disc jockey and model. Photo/FAMILY ALBUM
What you need to know:
- A businessman, DJ and model, Maina well known on the Nairobi party scene
A Kenyan family is struggling to come to terms with a tangled relationship that ended in murder in a small New Zealand town.
Stephen Mwangi Maina, 39, left Kenya less than one year ago leaving behind a wife and young child to try and make a living in the new Zealand town of Christchurch.
He ended up in a love triangle involving the wife of another Kenyan, who happened to be the brother of a friend who facilitated his trip to New Zealand in the first place.
A week ago he was attacked and killed in the house of the woman, Lydia Muthoni Munene, who herself was seriously injured by the assailant.
Lydia has just come out of a coma at a Christchurch hospital and police hope she will shed more light on the case.
New Zealand police are looking for Lydia’s husband, Samuel Ngumo Njuguna, to help with investigations.
They have, through Interpol, contacted the Kenyan police to help trace Njuguna who they believe fled back to Kenya soon after the brutal assault.
“None of us know him. We only know his brother Dan who helped Mwangi go abroad,” recalls Mwangi’s younger brother Jesse Wachira.
Dan is also said to have helped Kay get a job at a refrigeration company where he worked.
Mr Maina’s family in Ongata Rongai, near Nairobi, is now trying to raise the Sh500,000 required to fly his body home.
In the dark
A businessman, part-time disc jockey and model, Mr Maina was a well known personality on the Nairobi party scene.
He once DJ’d at some of Nairobi’s hottest joints — Florida 2000 and Park Place on Magadi Road — and was also “the body” on the Trust condom billboards.
When he left Kenya last October, Kay, as he was popularly known, had his family’s blessings.
He borrowed Sh300,000 from his mother Esther Nyambura for his ticket and upkeep.
“May justice be seen to be done,” was all the mother could say when traced by Saturday Nation at the family’s Ongata Rongai home.
Meanwhile, despite reports that New Zealand police had asked their Kenyan counterparts for help in tracing Njuguna, the Maina family says it has been kept in the dark.
“We have not received any official word on what is going on,” said Wachira.
Kenya has no embassy in New Zealand and travel documents, which are being processed in Australia, are expected to be ready today.
