Tecra Muigai and Omar Lali
The tragic death of Tecra Muigai Karanja – the daughter of Keroche Breweries owners Joseph and Tabitha Karanja – brought with it a massive load of controversies and surprising discoveries about her previously private life, with her name trending on social media for three consecutive days.
At the heart of the conversation was Tecra’s Muigai’s unique love life which defied many conventional norms.
When initial reports arrived that she died while in the company of her boyfriend in Lamu, many expected it to have been a handsome young man from her socio-economic class, probably educated in the fine and cultured schools, and with a financially stable background.
But instead, free from the financial yoke that worries so many young women today, she fell hard for an older man, one who from the looks of it may as well be penniless, uneducated, rather, a free-spirited beach boy from a remote village in Lamu Island.
50-year-old Omary Lali is now at the center of investigations into Tecra’s death and is currently cooling his heels in a police station in Lamu as detectives from the DCI’s homicide unit continue to solve the puzzle of how his lover met her untimely death.
Stories indicate that she was found bleeding and unconscious in the house before she was rushed to a nearby clinic and later airlifted to Nairobi where she succumbed to her injuries.
Following her death, Mr. Lali was arrested and arraigned at the Lamu Law Courts on Wednesday, where Principal Magistrate Allan Temba allowed detectives to continue detaining him for another 21 days.
No charges were read out to him.
Police told Principal Magistrate Allan Temba that they require weeks to probe the death. They plan to scour through closed-circuit television images around the apartment, question witnesses, and look into digital evidence in Nairobi and Lamu.
Details also recently emerged showing that Tecra’s family disapproved of the suspect’s relationship with their daughter with Mr. Lali’s cousin claiming the deceased had converted to Islam.
Mohamed Ali Mohamed revealed that Tecra and Omar had been living as a couple for almost two years and had, in fact, visited her parents in Naivasha to get their blessing for their union. The parents flatly rejected the union but the Tecra stuck her ground. She was in love.
But how exactly did Lali, a native of Kizingitini within the Lamu archipelago, a mere nobody in the eyes of many, bag the gorgeous Strategy and Innovation Director at Keroche Breweries?
Well, a men’s health and lifestyle coach from Nairobi has attempted to answer this perplexing scenario which in many cases can only be elucidated by those partaking in such extraordinary relationships.
According to Dr. Eric, popularly known by his Twitter username “Amerix”, Mr. Lali exhibited key traits of what he describes as “the 5M’s of being a great man”.
By analyzing four major influencing factors of the beach boy’s life, Dr. Eric tried to paint a picture of what might have drawn Tecra to Omar.
For instance, having been born into a family of fishermen, he explained, Omar instilled the qualities of hard work, determination, and proper dietary habits into his life from an early age.
His experience in the seafood business means he has over time acquired great selling skills, which in Dr. Eric’s view, every man should have.
As a tour boat operator, Dr. Eric argues, Mr. Lali showed the art of managing men, material possessions, and using the two to make money and earn a living.
Moreover, occasional rowing of the boat ensures that unlike many modern young men, he gives his body the much needed muscular exercise.
Finally, Dr. Eric perceived that all these characteristics combined with Mr. Lali’s love and grasp of his Kingdom (the Island) make him adorable extremely adorable to women.
Omar, according to locals, ekes out a living carrying luggage for tourists visiting the Lamu Island and the fun season is over, he works as a boat operator, a trade he mastered as a coxswain.
He would hire a boat to take tourists to luxurious and secluded retreats in remote places such as Kiwayu, where a one-night stay costs an arm and a leg.
He is said to be a smooth talker who endeared himself to tourists who he assisted carry luggage to the luxury hotels on the scenic island that is a retreat to rich as well as the young and restless.
That is how he met the Keroche heiress in 2017.
The cherry on top of the pie, his mastery of English, German, French, and Dutch are rumored to have played part in sweeping Tecra off her feet.
Those who knew them said that the couple had been living together at a Lamu hotel since March but later moved into an apartment following strict Covid-19 restrictions.
Omar’s family is currently distraught and unhappy with the Karanja’s for not intervening to get him out of police cells.
“We are wondering why Lali is being treated as a criminal. The family was aware of the relationship and there was a standby vehicle that had been hired by the family for the two to use to run errands while Tecra was in Lamu. The family would even send them drinks,” said one relative.
