People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua is mourning the death of her father, retired teacher Jackson Karua, who died at his home in Kirinyaga County on Sunday evening, September 27, 2026.
Karua said on Sunday night that she had spent much of the day with him and learnt of his death only as she travelled back to Nairobi.
“It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved father, Mwalimu Jackson Karua,” she said in a statement. She described how she and her siblings had visited him earlier in the day.
“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,” she said. “On my way back to Nairobi, I received the news that my beloved father had breathed his last.” She said she was grateful for the time they had 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.
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Karua remembered her father as a principled man who valued character, education and doing what was right, and as one of her most loyal supporters throughout her life and career.
“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,” she said. She also spoke of him as a father first.
“To us, above all, he was a loving father, steady, generous, and present. He gave us not only his love but also the values by which he lived, and in doing so, left us a legacy far greater than words can capture,” she said.
Describing his death as a major loss to his children, grandchildren, wider family and the many people he had taught and touched, she added: “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.”
“I will miss his voice, his counsel, his encouragement, and the quiet reassurance of knowing that he was there,” she said. “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. Huruka thayu (rest in peace), baba. You will be deeply missed, dearly loved, and forever remembered.”
Condolences came from across the political divide. President William Ruto described the late Karua as a dedicated public servant whose teaching shaped generations of learners and said he had raised a daughter who has served the nation with courage and integrity.
Opposition leaders, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Attorney General Justin Muturi, also sent messages of sympathy, with leaders from both sides praying for strength and peace for the family.
Jackson Karua and his wife, Josephine Wanjiru, had spoken publicly about their daughter in the past, including in 2022, when she was named Raila Odinga’s running mate in that year’s presidential election.
Martha Karua, a former Justice Minister and long-serving Gichugu MP, has built a career of more than four decades in law and politics. The family has not yet announced funeral arrangements, saying further details will be communicated in due course.
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