Unresolved killings pile up as Kiambu becomes murder capital
From Left: Esther Wambui, Simon Githae, Lucy Ngendo and Thika tycoon Sudhir Shah. They were separately murdered in Kiambu County.
On September 7, Lucy Ngendo Waitathu, a final-year student at the University of Nairobi, was found brutally murdered in her rented bedsitter in Uthiru, Kiambu.
Preliminary police investigations revealed that Ms Ngendo was killed by people who knew her well, as she was killed in the daytime with no alarm being raised.
Police believe she innocently opened the door to people she knew, only to be killed and her half-naked body covered with a carpet.
Neighbours told the Nation at the scene that they heard a single scream and did not bother to check what was happening because they thought the sound came from a neighbouring road.
Nothing was stolen from her and no arrest has been made.
On Wednesday last week in Ruiru, Kiambu, Ms Ngendo’s mother, Esther Waitathu, and other family members held a birthday celebration for her deceased daughter. She would have turned 23 years old.
Ms Ngendo was studying environmental science and was due to graduate this year.
''They killed my daughter and I am deeply traumatised. I don’t know whether I will ever heal or recover. She was set to graduate this year. Why would anyone want to kill such an innocent soul,’’ Ms Waitathu told the Nation in an interview at the weekend.
This is just one of the latest unresolved murders in Kiambu, an area that has become a murder capital with elusive killers that are never brought to book.
Criminals sometimes get away with murder because of shambolic investigations, officers tampering with evidence and families not cooperating with the police, police sources told the Nation.
In some cases, police have also come under criticism for negligence.
''Sometimes we get blamed by families of the deceased for allegedly killing their relatives, which is not the case. They don’t trust us. They see us as their enemies and they fail to open up to speed up the investigations,’’ a senior police officer told the Nation yesterday.
In January this year, Esther Wambui, 18, was found murdered and her body, stashed in a sack inside a suitcase, dumped off Thika Road.
Although preliminary police investigations revealed that her death resulted from a secret love gone sour, officers investigating the matter at the Ruiru Police Station confirmed no arrests have been made.
Ms Wambui had dropped out of Kianjogu Secondary School in Nakuru in Form Two. She met Simon Ngigi, 23, a casual labourer, and they relocated to Nairobi, where she found a job at a fast-food joint earning Sh300 daily.
Samuel Mbugua, her father, believes justice may not be served after he lost a daughter that he thought would one day pull them out of poverty.
“It seems justice does not work for the poor in this country, nothing has ever come out of the investigations. What I have to live with is that my daughter will never walk into my homestead again alive. That is the reality and that is the painful truth,’’ Mr Mbugua said in despair.
In March this year, Thika tycoon Sudhir Shah was shot dead by two gunmen riding on a motorcycle in broad daylight in Ndarugo, Juja, Kiambu while he was with five people, including the directors of Ndarugo Plantation 1960 Limited.
Mr Shah, a father of two, was shot in the neck and shoulder and was pronounced dead on arrival at Thika Central Memorial Hospital. Nothing was stolen from him.
His family believes he was lured with a Sh3 billion land deal and handed over to the killers. The land in question constitutes 150 acres and stretches to Thika Road, and part of it is a quarry.
On the day Mr Shah was killed, he was meeting potential investors who wanted to set up a special economic zone that would host industries and godowns.
No arrests have been made and Mr Shah’s widow, Taru Shah, fled the country, fearing for her life.
Mr Shah’s brother was killed the same way a few years earlier. His car was sprayed with bullets at Blue Post and nothing was stolen from him.
No arrests have been made in that case either.
On March 8 this year, Cyrus Mwangi, 30, visited his sister, identified as Eunice Mwangi, in Ruai. He was with his friend Francis Gitau.
Both Mr Mwangi and Mr Gitau were boda boda operators in Njiru and Ruai towns, family members said.
The two had gone to meet Ms Mwangi to ‘discuss business opportunities’. They arrived at her home around 1pm and left a few minutes before 4pm, Ms Mwangi said.
One hour later, Ms Mwangi told the Nation in an interview, their phones were switched off. Ms Mwangi said the duo’s killers must have been tracking their movements since the morning.
The following day, the bodies of Mr Mwangi and Mr Gitau were found dumped in Ruiru, near Tatu City, after a security guard became suspicious about an abandoned car.
He informed Tatu City security manager Stephen Muiruri, who called the police.
Inside the abandoned white Toyota Probox (KCX 385D) were Mr Mwangi and Mr Gitau’s bodies, which were riddled with bullet wounds. Their families said they were tortured before being shot dead, citing deep cuts in their necks.
The vehicle had been stolen from a parking yard in Embakasi. Its owner had reported it missing to the Embakasi Police Station, said Ruiru Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer Justus Ombati.
No one has been arrested or charged over the killings. The families of the two said they had given up the search for justice, saying police have no interest in investigating the matter.
In August last year, Simon Githae, 36, a farm worker in Gatuanyaga, was brutally murdered.
His body, except the head and the lower parts of the legs, had been skinned.
His family believes the killers were harvesting organs given that most of Mr Githae’s body parts were missing.
The police told the Nation yesterday that no arrests had been made over the murder.
Kiambu has become a murder capital, with people killed and their bodies dumped at river banks and in forests.
Only in a few instances have killers been arrested or confessed to committing the crimes.
Most families who lost loved ones are still wondering who killed their relatives and why.
