People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua is mourning the death of her father, Mwalimu Jackson Karua, after a final family visit in Kirinyaga.

Karua said she had travelled to Kirinyaga earlier on Sunday to spend time with her father alongside her siblings.

They sang his favourite gospel hymn together, unaware it would be their last time doing so.

“Earlier today, I went to Kirinyaga to visit my father. My siblings and I spent time with him and sang his favourite gospel hymn, never knowing it would be our last song together. On my way back to Nairobi, I received the news that my beloved father had breathed his last,” she said.

Despite the pain, Karua said she was grateful for the final moments they shared.

“We were simply grateful to sit beside him, to see him and spend that time together. I did not know I would soon be looking back on those moments with such tenderness, but I am deeply grateful to have them,” she said.

Karua remembered her father as a strong supporter who believed in her throughout her education, legal career and public life.

“My father believed in me long before I had achieved anything worth celebrating. From my school days, through my career in law, and through the many chapters of my public life, he remained one of my strongest supporters, always proud, always encouraging, and always in my corner,” she said.

She described him as a principled teacher who valued education, character and doing what is right.

“My father was a principled man, a teacher, and a man who believed deeply in the value of character, education, and doing what is right. But to us, above all, he was a loving father, steady, generous, and present,” Karua said.

She acknowledged the difficulty of losing a parent, regardless of age.

“There is never really an age at which you are prepared to say goodbye to someone who has been part of your life from the very beginning,” she said.

In her final message, Karua thanked her father for his love, guidance and unwavering support.

“To my father, thank you for believing in me, for standing beside me, and for loving me through every chapter of my life. I am deeply grateful to have been your daughter,” she said.

She ended her tribute with a simple farewell:

“Go well dad. You will be deeply missed, dearly loved, and forever remembered.”