Ciru Muriuki narrated her love story with her late fiancé actor Charles Ouda alias Charli as she delivered a touching tribute to the deceased.
Addressing a sombre gathering at the Baraza Media Lab at the memorial vigil on February 14, 2024, Muriuki reflected on their precious moments together, recalling their love story and the profound impact Charli had on her life.
41-year-old Muriuki said she started having hots for Charli when he was still a student at St. Mary's High School while she had just completed her secondary education.
"The first time I ever saw Charli on stage was several years ago when he was still at St. Marys. I just finished high school and my goodness I thought he was so fine waah! With that smile of his that lit up the stage. If anyone told me that 20-plus years later this luminance effervescent man would asked me to marry him I would have laughed you out of the room," Ciru Muriuki said.
The media personality revealed that Charli and her reconnected and ultimately fell in love after she returned to Kenya from the US.
She confessed that their love started as 'friends with benefits' before it graduated to the real deal where they were officially a couple.
Muriuki recalled that both the deceased and her first resisted the romantic feelings they had for each other before they surrendered to the mysterious forces of love.
"You see this love story of us took me by surprise. When Charli and I reconnected after I came back from New York I wasn't really looking. I lost my dad a year before and I was still trying to navigate the enormity of that loss. So he and I began a friendship that later had some benefits, si tulisema tunasema ukweli? But you know after a while it was clear that there was something between us that was completely undeniable so I fought it then when I accepted it now it was his turn to fight it. But there was this almost cosmic pull between us," she said.
Ciru Muriuki stated that she fell head over heels in love with Charles Ouda, stressing that in her entire life, she has never been loved with the same magnitude the way her late fiancé did.
"Let me tell you guys, I am almost 42 years old and I have never been loved like that. It wasn't about the grand gestures, it was about the comfort, the easy intimacy, that wonderfully silly friendship between us," she said.
Muriuki additionally reflected on the moment Charli went down on his knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She said the marriage proposal is still the most beautiful night of my life.
"The night he asked me to marry him we were on his couch and he was wearing torn leggings and one of his T-shirts and he got down on one knee and I cried and to date that is the most beautiful night of my life," she said.
Speaking amid tears, Ciru Muriuki told her late fiancé that even in his absence she will miss him until she joins him in eternity.
"And now, my love, I speak to you, thank you for showing me what true love is, thank you for being the perfect example of a gentleman and a real man, thank you for being the kindest man I have ever known.
"Thank you for looking after me. It is the privilege of my life to have loved and been loved by you. Charlie, I will miss you until I join you,” Ciru Muriuki concluded her tribute.
Death
Charles Ouda died on the night of Saturday, February 3, 2024.
A requiem mass for the deceased was held at All Saints Cathedral on Thursday, February 15, 2024, before the body was taken to Karikor Crematorium for last rites.
