Rigathi Gachagua mourns elder sister Eunice Nyangari Gachagua, 77, the family’s guiding light

The former Deputy President leads his family in grief after the death of the woman who held the Reriani household together for seven years following their mother’s passing

By James Mwangi

Eunice Nyangari Gachagua, elder sister of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, died yesterday in Naro Moru, Nyeri County, at the age of 77, leaving behind a family that had leaned on her steadying presence for more than half a decade.

In a statement released yesterday, Gachagua described his sister as the cornerstone of the Reriani family following the death of their mother seven years ago — a woman who stepped naturally into a maternal role and held her siblings, children and grandchildren together through the quiet authority of her love and counsel. “The late Eunice has been the mother figure in our family since the demise of our mother seven years ago,” Gachagua wrote. “We will deeply miss her wise counsel, warmth and the precious moments we shared. Eunice was a happy and warm soul who lit up our hearts.”

Eunice was the firstborn child of the late Mzee Nahashon Gachagua Reriani and the late Martha Kirigo Gachagua. She is survived by her daughter Waithera, her son Murimi, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Gachagua extended his condolences directly to each of them. “My family shares in the pain and grief of each and every one of us,” he said. “We pray that her soul may rest in peace and that perpetual light may shine upon her forever.”

Eunice Nyangari Gachagua elder sister of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua second left, and his brother second right

The loss carries particular weight for Gachagua, who has navigated one of the most turbulent periods of his public life in recent months. His impeachment as Deputy President in October 2024 and subsequent return to opposition politics placed him at the centre of Kenya’s most contentious political drama in years. Through that storm, family remained the constant. Eunice, by all accounts, was central to that anchor — the kind of presence whose value is felt most acutely in its absence.

Condolences arrived from across Kenya’s political spectrum, a reflection both of Eunice’s standing within the family and of the regard in which many leaders hold Gachagua despite the political turbulence that has surrounded him. Martha Karua, leader of the People’s Liberation Party and a figure who has herself known political adversity, offered her sympathies and praised Eunice’s strength and warmth. Former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, who has known Gachagua across years of political engagement, also extended his condolences, acknowledging the depth of the loss for a family already acquainted with grief.

The passing of a firstborn sibling carries a particular resonance in Kenyan family culture, where birth order carries meaning beyond biology. The firstborn is often the keeper of family memory, the bridge between parents and younger siblings, the one who translates the values of one generation into the lived experience of the next. When that figure goes, something irreplaceable goes with them. Gachagua’s statement acknowledged as much without saying it directly — the reference to Eunice stepping into their mother’s role speaks to the kind of quiet, sustained love that rarely makes headlines but shapes everything.

Photographs from family gatherings, shared alongside tributes from relatives and well-wishers, captured Eunice at the centre of scenes that told their own story — a woman comfortable in the company of her people, whose presence was not commanded but simply felt. Those images, circulating on social media yesterday, prompted an outpouring of messages from Kenyans who may not have known her personally but recognised in her story the universal shape of a life well lived.

She was 77 years old. She had, as Gachagua noted, lived happily. She had raised children, watched grandchildren arrive, and held a family together through its hardest seasons. She had offered counsel when it was needed and warmth when it was not asked for but given anyway.

Kenya has many ways of measuring a life. By any of them, Eunice Nyangari Gachagua’s was full.

May perpetual light shine upon her.

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