Aftonbladet 24th September 2011
She was the mother who lived for her children. But behind the lowered blinds, everything had changed. Yesterday, friends of the murder suspect went to church to seek answers. They were first 50, then 100 and finally 150 in total, until there were not enough seats in the Great Hall at Saint Eugenia Church, in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm last night.
The murder suspect’s Kenyan and Swedish friends had come to seek solace and light candles for the dead boys: Tevin, 8, and Elias, 4. All wanted to go up and talk. Kenyan Ambassador Purity W. Muhindi of the Stockholm Embassy said Kenyans in Sweden are one and the same group – with a common future.
Two small parts of the future now taken from them
“We did not come 800 miles to this country to destroy each other”, said one man. “We are not here to point fingers. Only God knows the truth”, said another. Sophia Njoroge, the mother’s close friend, got a long applause when she spoke of the anger against the municipality of Sigtuna, which failed to stop the tragedy.
“Tevin and Elias could not speak for themselves. We are their voices”, she said. They spoke about the mother’s love, how she lived for her children. Meanwhile, mournful hymns in Kikuyu, her language, filled the hall. There were tears in the eys of many in the crowded hall with poor ventilation.
However, two key issues came up; one was directed at the woman and the other at the Swedish society. Why? The second was against the seated individuals: Was there anything I could have done? Out on the street was one of her closest friends, in a sports jacket and a neat pair of jeans.
He and the mother met in Sweden aroound three to four years ago. Two young Kenyans, new in a foreign country. “We hit it off immediately. I have a daughter who is as old as Elias, so it is clear that we began to keep each other company”.
The latest they met was in Nairobi this summer. Did he notice any change?
“She was happy but you can always see two sides of a person. Behind the smile she was stressed about something”. He takes up a Marlboro, stays on the pavement, rocking back and forth.
“I do not have any more to say; I know nothing yet. But promise me that you type something in capital letters in your newspaper tomorrow”. “Write that she was a good mother”. Today, another memorial service is being held in Sigtuna. It would be necessary, since much will be required before getting answers.
Translation by KSB Staff
About the Author
I cry as I comment on this blog but what I want to say is that the Swedish system killed the two boys and not the woman. Some earlier comment I read assumed that foreigners come to Sweden to exhibit bad characters from their country of origin but I’m sorry for such narrow understanding of the situation. Anyone that want to understand the problem should answer this question, if this woman is in Kenya even without money to eat for months, would she have killed her two children?
A barren African woman goes to any length to seek solution that will enable her to have a child. In Africa, children are the social welfare and how can she seek to kill her welfare? But in Sweden, children are not welfare but a burden to many and as such whatever that is a burden can be done away with. How can anyone kill the future hope for survival? She trusted not in God for her daily need as most African will do in such situation but rather she trusted on the Swedish welfare system that failed her.
It is not the nature of African people to commit suicide or to kill their own children. However, when one comes into a system that value mostly the material wealth, what do you expect? People will seek to have what the society promise to offer them and if they cannot have what the society promised; they can do anything including killing their children and committing suicide. Why the Swedish welfare system, assure people to trust in welfare for their daily bread and not in God and now electricity was cut off in a land where you cannot even cook without electricity. In Africa, firewood will do to prepare food for the family, restaurant is out of it except for the rich but here even the poor eats at restaurant, the woman was poor but ate pizza with her two children always, the money for pizza would have been enough to provide food for the family for extended period perhaps continues as provision would have come from God, she can go begging but not to kill her children. But she was proud of herself and one who cannot beg and wanted to maintain Swedish standard of living, ate pizza and when she finished her money on pizza and not having more, she has to kill the children. She want to stay alive to meet another man to start to enjoy her life in Sweden and born more.
The Kenyan woman born one child for African man and another for Swedish, she born to have her material needs satisfied but many assumed that she loved the children. How can she love her children and yet she killed them? It was a conditional love based on what she was getting from fathers of the two children to satisfy herself that made her to conceive and born in the first place and not because she desired to have the two children. Once she was cut off from benefits that made her to have the second child, then she has to kill the two to live her life to the fullest.
Therefore, she killed the children so that whatever she can get from the welfare system later will take care of her and not be faced with burden of extra care for children. After all many people here are not interested to have children because welfare takes care of the people at their old age and not children but Africa will like to have children because their children are the welfare. Since children are not necessary for welfare need of parents, then getting rid of the children is a matter of time for those who cannot afford to enjoy their own life to the fullest.
First, I would like to send my prayers to the loved ones that are left behind. I know they must be having a difficult time dealing with this tragedy. However, there is a lot of mentioning that the suspect was a good mother, yet I see just the opposite. I’m not questioning whether she loved her children, but was she just that selfish to take their innocence due to her unstable life? She had a chance to experience life and could have chosen to end hers instead if it was that bad. It was very unfair to make that decision for her children. They deserved a chance at life. It is apparent that the murder suspect came from a loving family from the articles that I have read and I am sure that her Mother and other family members in Kenya could have taken care of her children. She could also have against all odds, surrendered them to the Swedish state authorities for care in a foster home. Children first!