Sombre mood as murdered Catholic Church secretary is buried in Embu
A coffin containing the remains of the slain Catholic secretary Josephine Karimi. The deceased was buried at Mbukori village in Embu County.
A sombre mood engulfed Mbukori village, Embu County during the burial of Josephine Karimi, a worker at the local Catholic Church who was murdered.
Tears flowed freely as the coffin was lowered into the grave at 3pm.
Karimi’s body was found in a disused pit latrine at St Mary's Catholic Women Association (CWA) compound in Kiaragana, where she worked as a secretary.
Relatives broke down and wept during the emotional send-off and had to be escorted away.
Speaker after speaker condemned the senseless murder and demanded justice.
"I take this opportunity to condemn this heinous act in the strongest possible terms. Such an act of lawlessness should not go unpunished," said Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji.
A senior priest of the Catholic Church, Alex Mati, said he was shocked to learn of Karimi’s death.
A mourner breaks down during the funeral of the slain Catholic secretary Josephine Karimi at Mbukori village in Embu County.
The priest noted that life is sacred and nobody should take it away.
A relative, Ms Rose Mary Gatumu, said the loss of Karimi was a big blow to Mr Simon Kivuti's family.
"The deceased was a God-fearing, obedient, respectful, loving, hardworking and joyful person and the family has lost an important person," said Ms Gatumu, an aunt of the deceased.
Ms Karimi was last seen alive on Wednesday, June 28. She had lunch with her mother and returned to work.
The next day, the family became worried when calls to her mobile phone went unanswered.
Following the disappearance, the family reported the matter to the Runyenjes police station and recorded a statement.
"When we did not see our daughter at the centre, I personally reported the matter to the police and detectives immediately started investigations," said Mr Kivuti, her father.
On July 3, Karimi’s body was discovered deep in the pit, sending shockwaves throughout the Catholic Diocese of Embu, which runs the CWA centre.
Mourners carrying a coffin containing the remains of the slain Catholic secretary. Josephine Karimi was buried at Mbukori village in Embu County
Karimi's left hand, ribs and sternum were broken, and she had been strangled, the post-mortem showed.
The attacker, whose motive, according to detectives, was rape, may have used a blunt object to inflict injuries on the first-born in a family of three.
Investigators have linked a casual labourer to the secretary's macabre murder.
Detectives arrested Boniface Yakulula in connection with the murder after he led them to the crime scene.
The suspect told detectives that he knew where the body was and led them to the pit latrine.
“The man took advantage of the fact that the woman was alone in the CWA centre to rape her," said one of the detectives.
According to detectives, the woman and the suspect lived in separate houses within the centre, which is run by the Catholic Diocese of Embu, and was most likely killed in the early hours of the morning.
The woman had just landed the job and had only worked for a week when the worst happened.
Mourners eulogised Karimi as an ambitious person who was always on the move.
“She did several courses. The lady was so active and she would have excelled in life if she had lived," said one of the mourners, Ms Jane Mukami.
