A heartbreaking story of a Kenyan engineer on Thursday moved many to tears when it was widely shared on social media.
Businessman and Nailab co-founder Sam Gichuru was the first to post the story of one Zak Muriuki - a techie who moved to Ethiopia on January 9, 2015, after his company, Intersat, assigned him to a client but on Thursday came back to Kenya in a coffin.
According to the sad narrative, Zak was arrested alongside his workmate Jedrick Mugo a day after their arrival to Ethiopia. The duo was accused of telecommunication fraud even before they were able to start working.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Zak's associate divulged that "Zak was arrested with another Kenyan engineer called Jedrick Mugo who is still in custody as the government there says it's still looking for evidence against him."
"The two had gone to Ethiopia to install VSAT equipment for a customer. This was a normal routine assignment and they had been there before and came back home safely. However, this time around, the customer's site was raided by Ethiopian police and the 2 arrested and booked by the police," our source disclosed.
As per the reports, Zak's employer and friends tried in futility to contact the Kenyan Ambassador to Ethiopia Catherine Mwangi for almost two years to intervene in the dire situation.
Sadly, after 20 months in prison, Zak came back to Kenya dead after being convicted of a crime which allegedly had no evidence to incriminate him.
"Zack is back home from prison, after 20 months, in a coffin. He died in an Ethiopian Jail... and we could do nothing about it," Gichuru noted.
Zak was a father of two young girls.
The story has since gone viral on social media with over 2,500 shares and 1000 comments by the time of reporting.
Kenyans expressed sadness over the demise of Zak pointing an accusing finger at the Kenyan Government for supposedly doing little to save the situation.
Here are the reactions:
