Businessman and Mastermind Tobacco tycoon Wilfred Murungi was laid to rest on Tuesday in an unusually private burial ceremony at his family home in Magutuni village, Tharaka-Nithi County
The funeral, which reportedly lasted less than an hour, was attended only by a tightly restricted group of family members and a few invited friends, reflecting the late billionaire’s famously private lifestyle.
Those without invitations were reportedly turned away at the entrance, leaving many villagers and acquaintances unable to witness the final farewell.
Murungi’s body was reportedly airlifted from Nairobi before being transported by hearse from Kiurani Primary School to his rural home. A second helicopter landed at the same school carrying his four children.
In one striking account, a nephew who had driven his mother to the funeral was reportedly left outside because he had not been invited. His mother was allowed into the ceremony, leaving her son waiting outside.
The secrecy surrounding the funeral reportedly extended to the programme itself. There were allegedly no printed copies of the eulogy, funeral programme or tributes for mourners to follow.
Even some of the people who had dug Murungi’s grave were reportedly asked to leave during the ceremony. According to accounts from those present, they were only allowed back after much of the grave had already been covered.
A government official who attended the ceremony as part of the security team told reporters that outsiders were kept away from the casket carrying Murungi’s remains. The official also said that no food was served to mourners during the brief ceremony.
Once the burial was completed, Murungi’s family members reportedly boarded the two helicopters and flew back to Nairobi without interacting with the villagers who had gathered outside.
A family tradition of private funerals
The highly guarded burial reportedly mirrored the funeral of Murungi’s wife, who was also laid to rest in a private ceremony attended by only about 40 people.
Murungi himself did not attend his wife’s funeral, reportedly choosing to honour her dying wish for a restricted ceremony.
A villager who recalled the occasion said Murungi arrived at the same primary school in a helicopter carrying his wife’s body, handed the remains over to their children and other family members, and immediately returned to Nairobi.
The family’s decision to keep Murungi’s own funeral private has consequently drawn attention, particularly because of his prominent position in Kenya’s business world.
From BAT executive to Mastermind rival
Murungi built his reputation in Kenya’s tobacco industry through Mastermind Tobacco, after previously working for British American Tobacco (BAT).
He eventually emerged as one of BAT’s significant local competitors and became increasingly outspoken about what he described as unfair treatment of his company.
Murungi publicly accused BAT of colluding with Kenya Revenue Authority officials to subject Mastermind to aggressive tax demands and surveillance—allegations that formed part of a broader and prolonged corporate and regulatory battle.
By the late 2010s, Mastermind was involved in a major dispute with KRA over reported tax arrears estimated at about KSh2.9 billion. The dispute eventually resulted in legal action and forced-sale orders involving some of the company’s properties.
Murungi also had interests beyond tobacco. He was a co-founder and major shareholder of Key Microfinance Bank alongside other investors, including Francis Muthaura and Luke Kinoti.
He served for years as a non-executive director of ARM Cement and was its board chairman between October 2017 and August 2018. He also chaired NGM Limited, an electrical engineering contracting company.
His corporate influence extended to industry institutions, where he served on the boards of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
Mastermind’s difficult final years
Following Murungi’s death on June 6, 2019, Mastermind Tobacco reportedly continued experiencing serious financial difficulties, with no clear successor publicly emerging to steer the company through its challenges.
The company’s production eventually stopped in June 2023.
Later that year, I&M Bank placed Mastermind under administration in December 2023 as its financial troubles deepened. About 1,000 employees were subsequently dismissed, while the company’s assets were scheduled for auction in January 2025.
Despite the controversy and financial battles that surrounded his business empire, Murungi remained one of Kenya’s notable entrepreneurs.
His final journey, however, was markedly different from the public life of a high-profile businessman.
There were no crowds of mourners, no widely distributed funeral programmes and reportedly no public farewell at his rural home.
Instead, the tobacco tycoon was buried quietly, surrounded by a small circle of people chosen by his family.
For a man remembered for keeping much of his personal life away from the public eye, his final farewell was perhaps equally private—a guarded ceremony lasting less than an hour before the helicopters carried his family away from Magutuni.
According to the obituary published in local newspapers, the family is scheduled to hold a funeral service at All Saints’ Cathedral Church on Thursday, where members of the public will be allowed to attend.
