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in memory of Prof J.Maranga 1932-2008

On my Dad
In life, there are events that shake your core being, events that send chills down the spine and make you question your faith and human decency. That event for me was the death of my father in December of 2008. It was not necessarily his death, but the way in which he died that has turned my world upside down. My father, Professor J. S. Maranga, was murdered in his bedroom in front of his wife of fifty years! It is hard enough to watch violence on TV or in a movie, what is worse is watching a loved one being murdered and for that loved to be a spouse of fifty years is beyond comprehension. I cannot even pretend to understand what my mom is going through right now.

That night
My father who had recently been appointed to the Kenya Institute of Education and had unexpectedly returned to home after a meeting at the Institute. They had dinner, prayed and went to bed where they were awoken by loud noise of someone breaking in to the house. My parents have lived in this house for over 45 years and other than petty theft, no one has ever broken into the house. Shocked and confused, they locked themselves in the bathroom and started to pray. Asked who they were and what they wanted, they replied “we want the old man! We were sent for the old man!” These men had the audacity to thank my mom for praying for them, but that they were still going to kill mzee (old man). After about two hours, the gang of six finally broke in and with one shot to the chest executed my dad in front of my mom.

Who was my dad?
My dad was born in 1932 during a time when Kenya was still under British Colonial rule in a poor section of western Kenya. In spite of the difficult road, dad was able to not only educate himself, but help educate his siblings while still educating his children. My father believed strongly in education as the key to a better life. He especially believed in education of girls and how that investment had the capacity to change a community! Don’t believe me? Look at what his daughters have been able to achieve academically! After a quarter of a century in education his passion for education had not wavered. He was at his happiest in the classroom; in fact, at his funeral, which was attended by thousands of people, the Minister of Education in Kenya said that one would be hard pressed to find a teacher who hadn’t been taught by dad or someone dad taught.
As a father, he was a humble and generous man, he never wanted to amass large sums of money, in fact growing up we joked about my parents being the “American Red Cross” because of their tendency to sometimes overextend themselves! I don’t remember a single year where we didn’t have members of the extended family living with us. From the farm workers to the executives my dad treated everyone with the same distinction. He was grounded and confident with no hidden agendas; hence free to give the best advice based on years of experience. He listened intently without judgment and always wanted anyone to leave happier than they were when they came to him. In fact, one of his mantras was a quote from Mother Theresa: “Spread love everywhere you go, first to all your home; give love to your children, to a wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor. Let no one ever come to see you without leaving happier.”

My Thoughts:
No doubt this was a heinous and senseless crime. Every day I ask myself why. Why him? Why? Why now? He wasn’t involved in politics, or any risky behaviors so why him? I haven’t been able to find anyone who can explain why this crime happened or why my dad. However, this being Kenya coupled with how investigations are conducted and the fact that some of the men who attacked wore Kenyan police uniforms, we may never find out why it happened.
At this point, I have two choices, one is to become consumed with anger and rage, or take the anger or frustration of a life cut short and channel it to fulfill dad’s dreams. His dreams of a great school which serves the under-served, his dream of helping those, especially young girls, who have the will but not the means to achieve academically his dream of making SEMA academy the model for what a school should be!

The Dalai Lama on Happiness and Anxiety
The main reason that people inflict suffering on others is that they do not understand the true nature of happiness. They think that other people’s pain will in some way bring about their own happiness, or that their own happiness is more important than that of others, regardless of any suffering incurred in the process of securing it. In the long run, causing others to suffer and trampling on their rights to a peaceful and happy existence only lead to one’s own anxiety, fear and doubt

Quote courtesy of The Dalai Lama’s little book of Inner Peace.

Peace Hudgen