Tamati Mauti, the 29-year-old man who reportedly killed a BBC employee before taking his own life in Nairobi, loved to make everyone laugh, his family and friends said yesterday.
So vivacious was Mauti that he never got tired of socialising and smiling that he earned the nickname Bwana Raha (Mr Happiness).
Family and friends eulogised Mauti during requiem mass in Karen before his burial in Ongata Rongai.
Speaker after speaker said Mauti was hardworking and determined to do better as a videographer and presenter at Christ Is The Answer Ministries (Citam) Church in Karen.
They said everybody in the church, including the clergy, knew him by name and character.
So open was Mauti about his plans that those close to him knew he and his university sweetheart, Michelle Akinyi, would be wedding at the very church this month.
At no point did he miss midweek prayers at the church as long as he was in Nairobi, they said.
Mauti, a producer and graphic designer, hit the headlines two weeks ago for his alleged involvement in the death of BBC project manager Kate Mitchell, who was found dead in her room at Ibis Styles Hotel, Westlands.
Mauti’s life was cut short barely seven weeks to his 30th birthday.
Michelle Akinyi (second right) fiancée of Tamati Mauti with friends and family members of the deceased during the requiem mass at Christ Is the Answer Ministries church in Karen, Nairobi on December 1, 2021.
Preliminary investigations showed he followed Mitchell to her hotel room where a dispute followed. Mitchell then pressed the alarm button.
This, according to police, alarmed Mauti who killed her before jumping to his death from the eighth floor room.
However, the account by police was dismissed by his family and friends who portrayed Mauti as a loving, caring and incapable of hurting anyone.
Mauti’s mother, Monicah, said he was killed but “I am slowly coming to terms with the tragedy”.
“I accept the reality and forgive whoever did this to you. You have left me crying forever. But there is hope to reunite in resurrection,” she said.
Mauti’s elder brother, Sudi Mairura, described him as a great man whose memory “shall forever remain in our hearts”.
“I brought you to the church and I know you met Christ,” Mr Mairura said.
Ms Akinyi, who was with Mauti at Ibis Styles Hotel on the day he died, said he was so confident and sure of himself that what happened still baffles her.
“How could someone be so bold, charismatic charming at the same time? That is what made me fall in love with him,” she said.
Michelle Akinyi, the fiancée of Tamati Mauti who died under mysterious circumstances at a Nairobi Hotel, breaks down the during requiem mass at Christ Is the Answer Ministries church in Karen, Nairobi on December 1, 2021.
Youtuber and event and radio host, Shaquille O’Neill, known to all as Shaq The Yungin, said he was with Mauti hours before his death.
“He would constantly tell me stories of the Bible and I would relate with his words. In fact, Mauti’s last words to me were that I should follow Christ. I will forever miss him. He was like a big brother to me,” O’Neill said.
Born in Nairobi on February 6, 1992, Mauti joined Kiambu High School after his primary education where he attained a B+ mean grade in his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.
He then joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology for a degree in maths and physics.
But he ditched the course and joined USIU-Africa to pursue International Relations and journalism.
Until his death, Mauti was the head of communication at Ademba-Otieno Pan African Hub for Higher Learning.
Michelle’s body was taken to the City Mortuary on Friday and a post-mortem conducted. The body was moved to Lee Funeral Home before being flow to Britain on Sunday. The post-mortem revealed that she died of strangulation. BY DAILY NATION