Thursday, September 25, 2025 - On 26th July, 2020, the country woke up to the shocking news headlines of an alleged death by suicide of Kanyiri Wathika, the son of the late former Nairobi Mayor and Makadara Member of Parliament, Hon. Dick Wathika, and Asenath Wacera Maina (the wife of Dick Wathika).
The internet also became a wash with breaking news of the
incident with captions such as “ Son of major Sportpesashareholder and former
Nairobi Mayor Dick Wathika commits suicide.. “Police are investigating an
incident in which a son of former Nairobi Mayor Dick Wathika committed
suicide in their house in Windsor area”.
In one of the many online posts captured on that day on the
same incident, a Nairobi resident posted that…..Asenath is headed to now
becoming a dollar billionaire if already not nakijana ndio huyo ameji off…
It has now emerged that Kanyiri who was sleeping in his
bedroom in the same house with his mother was allegedly found dead hanging on a
tie tied around his neck in a closet in his bedroom in the morning by his
mother, Asenath Wacera. This was five years after the death of his father on 19th
December 2015 due to cardiac arrest.
The son (Kanyiri) before meeting his timely death had
confided to his close friends that his father’s friend and business partner,
Paul Ndungu Wanderi, was having an affair with his mother, Asenath Wacera, and
that he suspected the death of his father who was ailing at the time could have
been instigated by the two to take over his father’s vast wealth and estate.
One friend says that Kanyiri confronted the mother over the
affair with Ndungu one day and their relationship started to deteriorate
forcing him to seek help from his father’s former business partners. He also
sought to know why the mother was not expediting the succession case of his
father’s Estate so that the Estate would be distributed to the dependants
accordingly.
The death of Dick Wathika and the suspicion also strained the
relationship of the Asenath Wacera Maina with her daughter with whom Kanyiri,
her brother, had shared the concerns with. Friends of Asenath say that the
daughter opted to leave the country due to the mistreatment by the mother after
the father’s death. The man at the centre of this controversy is the former
partner and friend of the late Dick Wathika and controversial business man,
Paul Ndungú, whose penchant for media and court attacks against the Government
agencies is well known.
Paul Ndungu loves media coverage and brags of being a
billionaire despite the fact that he is facing serious financial problems and
bankruptcy.
In October 2016, Paul’s name and a company associated with
him, Life Care Medics were severally mentioned in the 5 billion Ministry of
Health scandal for alleged theft of over 200 million shillings.
Most recently another company linked to Mr. Paul Wanderi Ndung’u,
Protteta Holdings, was caught up in the KEMSA ‘COVID-19 Millionaires’ scandal
where it is reported to have allegedly received over 73 million shillings.
In May 2023, Paul Wanderi Ndung'u lost a case in which
he sought to stop the auction of his properties over a Sh 664.8 million loan
owed to Equity Bank Kenya. The case was brought against him by Equity Bank
Kenya, over an outstanding Ksh 664.8 million ($4.88 million) loan. Ndung’u had
taken out the loan in September 2019, securing it with an all-asset debenture
and personal guarantees, to finance the expansion of his farming business and
increase its export acreage. The Gigiri property and several farm plots were
pledged as collateral.
His valuable properties were set to go under the hammer
between March 21st and 24th, 2023. As indicated in a
public auction notice, Garam Investments Auctioneers specified that they are
executing the order received from Wanderi’s legal representatives.
Facing bankruptcy, Asenath Wacera Maina (the late Dick Wathika’s
wife) has come to salvage Paul Ndungu by using the finances and resources left
behind by her late husband, Dick Wathika, to finance Paul Ndungu’s legal
battles and lavish life style. By last year, Paul Ndungu had become broke and
was hiding in different hotels in the city (his famous joint was Windsor Hotel)
so as to avoid court process servers and auctioneers due to heavy indebtedness.
In May this year, the two Asenath and Paul Ndungu travelled
to England for a one week vacation and to meet UK lawyers involved in some of
the controversial cases against Paul Ndungu.
A private citizen is preparing to visit the Directorate of
Criminal Investigations with overwhelming evidence to enable Investigators
re-open the cold case of the alleged suicide of Dick Wathika’s son and proper
investigations to be conducted to unveil the mystery.
The evidence points to answer the Questions: Whether a man
over 5 feet tall can hung himself in a 3 metre closet with a tie tied to a
clothing rod around his neck? Was this a case of Murder? Was there a conspiracy
to disposes Kanyiri and his sister of the vast Estate of Dick Wathika ? Was
Asenath Wacera involved in the Murder of his son.
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