Family of Kenyan-Born Former Australian Senator Lucy Gichuhi Changes Daughter's Burial Plans

The family of Kenyan-born former Australian senator Lucy Gichuhi has decided to bury their daughter in Australia.

This comes after the family reportedly failed to raise enough money to transport her remains to Kenya for burial.

Gichuhi’s first-born daughter Peris Wanjiru, alias Kadada, passed away in Adelaide on August 26th aged 33 years. The family did not disclose the cause of her sudden death.

A GoFundMe page was created to raise $30,000 (Sh3.3 million) to repatriate the body of Peris to Kenya for a befitting send-off.

“Due to the current covid restrictions in place that have resulted in decreased air travel to and out of Australia, the cost of this process is overwhelming to the family and thus the appeal to you for your kind support,” a message of the page read.

“A little here and there will go a long way in making this possible and lessening the huge financial burden to her family as they come to terms with this devastating loss of their firstborn gone too soon.”

A funeral announcement placed in Tuesday’s dailies in Kenya said Peris will be laid to rest in Adelaide on Monday.

“On the 27th September 2021 there will be a Church Service at Influencers (Paradise) Church, followed by burial at the Centennial Park Adelaide, South Australia,” the obituary said.

Gichuhi, who worked as an accountant before joining politics, served as a Senator for South Australia from 2017 to 2019. 

The 56-year-old won the Family First Party seat in the Australian parliament following a special vote recount of the April 2016 election ordered by the High Court, becoming the first African-Australian senator in the history of the country.

Born in Mathira, Nyeri County, Gichuhi migrated to Australia in 1999 with her husband Don Gichuhi and their three children and became a naturalized Australian citizen in 2001. She received her Bachelor of Law from the University of South Australia in 2015.