You are forgiven, judge tells her father’s killer

• Dr Ang’awa was hit on head with a blunt object by an assailant in city 40 years ago

She is a judge who tempers her opinions with mercy, even when it affects her personally.

Her father was brutally killed when she was a teenager more than 40 years ago, but Lady Justice Mary Ang’awa has opted to forgive his killer.

During her reflection at a recent meeting to plan the 40th anniversary of the death of her father, she had no qualms about offering a pardon. “I have forgiven you,” she says is the message she has for the killer of Dr James Ang’awa.

One of the pioneer medical specialists in the country, Dr Ang’awa was hit on the head with a blunt object on Tom Mboya Street by an unknown assailant.

A police inquest cleared a suspect who had been arrested although Justice Ang’awa is not convinced the decision was the right one.

“My father died a painful death. Investigations and inquests were concluded. I and my brothers--Antony, Hillary, Charles and William-- have climbed a steep path to success with the guidance of our mother Perez. So the best thing to do is to forgive the killer,” she told the Sunday Nation.

At the time of her father’s death, Justice Ang’awa was a Form One student at Limuru Girls’ high school. Her family enjoyed a comfortable life; her father was establishing a reputation for his research into treatment of tuberculosis.

The family lived in high-class government quarters in Upper Hill. Among their neighbours were Dr Njoroge Mungai, former President Kenyatta’s personal physician, President Kibaki, who was then minister for Finance and the late Barack Obama Sr, father of American President Barack Obama.

The family was evicted from the house three months after Dr Ang’awa’s death.

“I had no idea under what circumstances my father died, and many people in my generation do not know who he was. They even imagine streets named after Ang’awa in various cities are in my honour,” she said.

The interview was conducted on the sidelines of a meeting to plan the 40th anniversary of Dr Ang’awa’s death to be held February 8 at the All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi and on February 14 at the family’s home in Gem District.

Justice Ang’awa offered an emotional recounting of the challenge of coping with the loss of the head of the family.

At one point, she almost dropped out of school for lack of school fees as the burden of educating the children overwhelmed their mother.

The February 8, 1970, incident was the most shocking news to her as she had just joined high school. The principal called her out of class without a word of explanation and told her to pack very few clothes.

She was too young and shy to ask questions. She just complied and was escorted to the gate where her uncle, Henry Odhiambo, was waiting.