KENYA – A young man from Murang’a has shared his harrowing journey from the brink of death to redemption, after being mistaken for dead and taken to a mortuary while still alive.
According to Macharia, the journey to self-destruction started in Form Two when a school strike disrupted normal learning.
What followed was a steady decline in discipline and focus. He began sneaking out of school, even during his KCSE examinations, abandoning the academic promise that once defined him.
“I ignored my parents’ advice and started keeping the wrong company,” he said, reflecting on the choices that led him down a destructive path.
After completing high school, Macharia became entangled with a group of friends who made a living through crime. Shortly after he joined them, they set out to accomplish what he describes as a “planned but poorly executed” robbery targeting a motorbike.
Given his prowess in riding, he was assigned to ride off with the bike and deliver it to a waiting client.
“The bike delayed starting because of fuel overflow, and that slowed everything down,” he recalled.
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Although they eventually managed to escape pursuing boda boda riders and sold the stolen motorbike to a spare parts dealer in Mwea, the consequences quickly caught up with him.
Having been paid KSh 15,000 and gifted new clothes, Macharia returned home to enjoy the loot, unaware that he was a wanted man.
He was resting in his house when he was confronted by a mob demanding the return of the stolen bike, followed by a brutal beating that nearly cost him his life. “I was beaten so badly I told them just to finish me,” he said.
“When my parents tried to intervene, they were told to prepare for my burial.”
My parents had already lost hope. They were crying, then they were told I was alive,” he recounted.
The near-death experience became a defining moment. Today, Macharia says he has turned his life around and is committed to steering others away from the mistakes he made.
Now a spoken word artist and youth mentor, he uses his story to caution young people about the dangers of peer pressure, crime, and lost opportunity.
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