The diaspora dream has ended in tragedy for one Kenyan family. Kepha Otundo Mwambi, a Kenyan national living in the UK, has been found dead in the town of Reading, reportedly succumbing to hypothermia during the brutal British winter.

Mwambi was discovered near a makeshift tent settlement along Abattoirs Road, a grim spot where the town’s unhoused population had sought refuge. His death exposes the harsh reality facing undocumented or struggling migrants who slip through the cracks of the UK’s social safety net.

The Eviction Writ

The tragedy is compounded by legal cruelty. Mwambi was living under the shadow of a "High Court Writ of Possession" dated July 4, 2025, which authorized the Reading Borough Council to evict the encampment. With nowhere to go and the eviction looming, he faced the freezing nights alone.

• The Cause: While an official autopsy is pending, community sources say Mwambi died from exposure. Temperatures in Reading had dropped to -4°C the night he died.
• System Failure: "He was invisible," said a local activist. As a foreign national, Mwambi may have lacked access to emergency shelters ("No Recourse to Public Funds"), a policy that often leaves migrants destitute.
• Community Grief: The Kenyan community in Reading is rallying to repatriate his body. "This is a wake-up call," said a diaspora leader. "We need to look out for our own. No one should die of cold in a developed country."

A Humanitarian Crisis

Mwambi’s death is not an isolated incident; it is a symptom of a housing crisis gripping the UK. For the family back in Kenya, the news is a devastating blow—the son who went to seek fortune has returned as a statistic of homelessness.