Mombasa Remand Prison Commander Alex Kazungu Mbitha and his 14‑year‑old daughter, Claire Heri, were on Friday laid to rest at Kotayo village in Magarini Sub County, Kilifi County in an emotional ceremony attended by thousands of mourners.
The 46‑year‑old Senior Superintendent of Prisons (SSP) and his daughter perished in a grisly road crash in the early hours of Tuesday, August 25, 2026. They were interred at the home of retired Marafa Senior Chief Paul Mbitha Mwambire, the father and grandfather of the deceased.
Until his death, SSP Kazungu served as the Officer‑in‑Charge of the Mombasa Remand Prison, popularly known as Jela Baridi. Claire, who was described as bright and ambitious, was on her way back to Mountain View Academy.
Kazungu’s wife, Rebecca Mumbi, survived the horrific accident at Konza along the Mombasa–Nairobi Highway. In her tribute, she described her husband and daughter as her closest companions, calling Alex a loving husband and Claire “an extraordinary child.”
She recalled how, on the fateful night, she heard a loud bang followed by the sound of breaking glass. When she regained consciousness, she saw her husband and daughter lying motionless, as though they might wake up. She said she attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on both while desperately seeking help.
“There is no prayer that I did not pray. There is no call that I did not make—the archbishop can attest to that because I called him while at the scene. I remember doing CPR; I remember checking Claire’s pulse. I remember telling my husband to hold on because help was coming. But it seems God had planned it that way,” she said.
Alex’s eight siblings and their father eulogized him as a pillar and the family’s spiritual leader and his late daughter as a brilliant young lady with a promising future.
Mr. Mwambire said his granddaughter recently attended an international competition in Malaysia where she made the family proud by bringing home a number of medals.
Her classmates at Nairobi’s Mountain View Academy read long tributes, describing how charming and helpful she was and said they would greatly miss her.
The burial service was presided over by Archbishop Harrison Ng’ang’a of the Christian Foundation Fellowship (CFF). Hundreds of prisons officers attended, led by Coast Regional Prisons Commander Hassan Taari, who read a condolence message from Commissioner General Patrick Oranduh.
Kilifi Deputy Governor Flora Chibule led county officials in consoling the bereaved family members, several of whom serve in different departments within the devolved government.
Former Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa and Magarini Member of Parliament Harrison Garama Kombe joined local leaders in mourning with the family. Though politics was strictly forbidden at the funeral, Jumwa and Karisa Fagio, both aspirants for the Kilifi Governor’s seat, subtly criticized the current regime in coded language.
Deputy Controller of Budget Stephen Masha eulogized the late SSP Kazungu as a dedicated public servant, urging employees to work diligently so that “their stars may shine.”
He also praised Claire as an intelligent girl who was set to join Yale University as a world scholar in November, a remarkable achievement for a student still in high school.
In his sermon, Archbishop Ng’ang’a read from 1 Corinthians 14:9-10, urging mourners to prepare for eternity by shunning evil deeds and reminding them of the inevitable judgment that awaits all after death.
By Emmanuel Masha
