01/12/2025
Today my cousin visited, and we talked about the things that often cut lives short. The conversation pulled a bitter memory from the past—a painful experience that took the life of a close friend.
There was a very wealthy man from Ukambani who wanted to start a real‑estate business. He shared his plans with his driver, and fortunately, the driver’s friend was a civil engineer. The driver introduced his friend to his boss, and the boss quickly approved the engineer for the projects.
The driver made a covenant with his engineer friend, promising to disburse commissions for every completed project. But greed and lust for more riches took over. The engineer broke the covenant, discarding the driver and keeping all commissions for himself, even though he continued receiving big projects from the boss.
Envy, one of the deadly sins, rooted itself in the driver’s heart. He masked his hurt, smiling while plotting in secret. He approached the engineer with a personal project—building his own mansion—and asked the engineer to begin work, promising a deposit later. Trusting and flush with money, the engineer started the project, forgetting the betrayal he had caused.
Days passed, and the driver called, asking the engineer to come for the deposit. That morning, the engineer went to the site, organized everything with the workers, and left to meet his “friend,” unaware it was a trap. The driver had hired vagabonds, and they ambushed the engineer. He was drugged, fell into unconsciousness, then strangled, and his body was thrown into the Athi River. The postmortem revealed a lethal injection that caused sudden sleep before the strangulation.
I was left shattered, wondering how greed can murder a man, stealing not only his life but also the peace of generations to come. Betrayal hurts, yes, but taking a life stains the soul forever.
Lord, have mercy on us. May we learn to cherish trust over riches, and may this sorrow turn into a prayer for compassion.