She was one of the most powerful women in the government of former President Uhuru Kenyatta. For five years, Mariam El Maawy served as Principal Secretary. But her sudden end sad death in the hands of Al Shabab remains as a powerful reminder of the threat posed by terrorists in the country.
A top achiever in life, El Maawy graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Nairobi before graduating with a masters degree in the same field from South Africa. This is no mean for a woman.
In July 2017, El Maawy was attacked by suspected Al Shabab militants at Mpeketoni, Lamu County where she was on official duty.
The PS was abducted by unknown people who shot dead her aides while inflicting life threatening injuries on her.
It took the effort of KDF officers and and other security apparatus to rescue her from her abductors. But it was already too late as the PS was badly injured. She was airlifted for emergency treatment in Nairobi before being transferred to South Africa for specialized treatment.
However, it was too little too late as she died two months later while in South Africa. President Kenyatta led the country in mourning one of if the top technocrats ever in his Government. She said that the fallen PS was dedicated public servant, a patriot and an accomplished architect.
El Maawy’s body was repatriated to Kenya a few days later and was buried at Lang’ata cemetery soon after landing in line with Islamic religion practices.
But for the woman who was the accounting officer in one of the most powerful ministries, hers was a sad and painful death.
By Nairobi