It is with thanksgiving and humble acceptance of God’s will that we announce the passing on to eternal rest of Nester Murangi Nyaga on the 21st of May 2026 after a long life of service to the Church and community.
Nester was the beloved wife of the late Mzee Bernard Nyaga of Ngariama Village, Gichugu, Kirinyaga.
Loving mother of Njoki and Wachira, Njeru and Charity, Gachiri and Njeri, Ngari and Beth, Susan and Ngure, Mary and Kimonye, Muthengi and Wanjiru, the late Ndugu and Wangui, Njogu and Wangui, Njagi and Wanjiru, and Muthoni and Giture.
Cherished grandmother, great-grandmother and godmother to many.
She was sister of the late Nephat Ndugu and the late Jennifer Muthoni.
Nester was a beloved in-law, aunt, cousin, friend to many, and a dedicated servant of God in the Mother’s Union and the Anglican Church – Kirinyaga Diocese.
Prayer and fellowship meetings are being held daily at her home in Ngariama Village, Gichugu, Kirinyaga from 3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Prayers and funeral arrangements will also be held on Tuesday 26 th May 2026 at St. Andrew’s Church Nairobi from 5.00 pm.
Thereafter, a memorial service will be held in her honour at Lavington United Church Nairobi on Wednesday 27th May 2026 from 10.30 am.
Mama Nester will be laid to rest on 29 th May 2026.
The cortege leaves Kenyatta University Funeral Home at 7.00 a.m for a funeral service at St. Mary’s ACK Church Ngariama beginning 10.00 a.m, followed by burial at the Nyaga Family Home in Ngariama.
“Mami, you lived with grace, loved without measure, and left the world better than you found it. Rest well, forever in our hearts.”
I observed Nester’s funeral online, but was very impressed by the tribute from her daughter Mary. Though I schooled at Ngariama in the 70s, it never occurred to me that we were related through our paternal grandmother, who came from the Angui clan of Kithure. But later in life, Nester studied her family tree, and one day she came to our family, introduced herself, and explained how we are related. Customarily, she would call our grandmother mum. I would call that homely and blood instinct that moved her to look for her relations. Since that time, our family bond has reconnected, and we have started supporting each other as and when necessary.
Perhaps our generation should not let her gesture go down the drain, but strive to reconnect much more.
My takeaway from the funeral was that she believed in herself, and hence the adage: ” dig deep into the soil to get the reward.” I would interpret it as walk with your chest thrust forward with no fear.
Certainly, Mary benefited greatly from her mother’s matriarchal influence, which saw her rise from Ngariama to the pinnacle of education and public service in Kenya.
Mama Muthengi, you have slept like an old soldier.
Old soldiers do not die.
They only fade away.