• The 17-year-old boy had told his childhood friend on November 7 that he would attend the Nairobi Festival concert at the Ngong Racecourse.
• On November 12, Shanty's family found his lifeless body at the City Mortuary.
Steven Munga a.k.a. Shanty would be preparing to resume learning at Mukaa High School in Makueni in January.
That, however, is not case. On Saturday, November 7 at about 2pm, the 17-year-old told his childhood friend Francis Muthama he would be attending the Nairobi Festival concert at Ngong Racecourse and that he would call him after the event.
The Form 3 boy from Kitengela, who joined Mukaa High this year, had planned a weekend of fun with four friends.
He was to turn 18 on December 25.
His chat with Muthama was the last communication with anybody. As the night fell, his phone was not going through.
Hours turned into days of search and anxiety. Shanty neither called nor returned home.
On November 12, Shanty's family found his body at the City Mortuary.
“We had been searching for three days. We went to several police stations, hospitals and even mortuaries. We eventually found him at the City Mortuary. His head was bashed and one of the eyes poked,” devastated father Geoffrey Munga said.
The last born and only son of the Mungas had died of head injuries, the postmortem examination report showed. He was beaten to death.
The father told the Star: “I am told they were five and after they entered the festival venue there was a commotion. My child was apprehended together with others.
"He was labelled thief, beaten and taken outside. The people he was with say he was brought back without his shirt and shoes."
Shanty was buried on November 20 at Kinangop. The funeral was attended by family members and friends who have known him for the longest time.
Munga remembers Shanty as a respectful and kind boy whose dream was to become a computer scientist.
The future looked bright. Who would have wanted him dead?
“We don’t know who killed him and what exactly he did to deserve such death,” his friend Muthama said, adding: “He was a born leader, influential and bubbly. It is painful to lose such a young soul.”
Shanty had been staying with his mother and two elder sisters since schools were closed in March due to Covid-19.
He was active on social media.
“We will surely miss him. At his age, he had the right to explore but no one had the right to kill him. We are still in shock,” the father said.
The family wants justice for their son and hopes that the police will get to the bottom of what led to the murder.