‘Why did they kill my mother?’
Samuel Karuku, 18, whose mother was found murdered at Kenol, during an interview at Kabati in Murang'a on April 6, 2023.
On March 29, Beth Wambui, 34, who was seven months pregnant, left her home in Murang'a County saying she was going to Kenol town to get money for rent.
"She left the house around 11am saying she would be back in the evening. Being a casual labourer, she did not tell me who she was going to get the money from," said her son, Samuel Karuku, 18.
She did not return that evening or the next day, causing panic among her family and friends.
But on 31 March, they received reports that Ms Wambui had been found murdered and dumped at a construction site on the outskirts of Kenol town.
According to Kandara sub-county police commander Michael Mwaura, her body was found naked with signs of sexual assault.
"A chief on duty at the scene called to inform us that a body had been dumped. We rushed to the scene and someone came out from the crowd and identified her," he said.
The police chief said several motives were being considered for the murder.
"We are profiling her activities in Kenol town with reports indicating that she was also popular in joints in Makutano town near Kenol, Nyeri and Embu towns. She was last seen alive at an entertainment joint in Kenol town," he said.
He added that she was later seen in the company of several others outside a bar in Kenol town, who are also being sought for statements.
"There is also a man we are holding with court permission in relation to the death as he is mentioned as possibly the last person seen with the deceased. We are waiting for the post-mortem examination of the body to give us more information," he said.
The late Beth Wambui.
According to the preliminary crime scene report, the body had no visible injuries and looked freshly dumped.
"It is most likely that she was dumped on Thursday after midnight," the report said.
Autopsy report
Mr Mwaura said, "We are working hard to unravel this murder and once the autopsy report is out, things will start moving in a structured manner and I promise that justice will be served.
Mr Karuku said his mother was in a good mood when she left the house, which is in Kabati town in Kandara constituency.
"She joked to me that it was high time I joined the military as I was getting taller by the day. I completed my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education last year," he said.
"She had also told me that it was high time I started acting like the head of the family because as a single mother, the family needed male authority. She also mentioned that she would want me to raise the unborn child,” he said, adding that his mother had promised to enroll him in a technical institute for a plumbing course before he could later try his luck at military recruitment.
Signage Kandara Police station.
"I have heard stories, even spread by some policemen... that my mother was a member of the beer spikers in the surrounding towns... that she was involved in some shady deals," he said.
He said that "these stories do not help anyone because there is no law that supports killing people and dumping their bodies in construction sites to punish them for their profession".
Second god
He said that "for us, their children, we have lost our second god, a parent and whose hand alone fed us".
Mr Karuku said the poverty in which his mother lived as she provided for her family of four was a matter of great concern to him.
"But what I loved about mum was that even when it was obvious that she was struggling to feed us, she would put on a brave face and smile, moving from one shamba to another to do odd jobs to cover our needs," he said.
Besides Mr Karuku, the deceased had three other children, twins (boy and girl) aged 14 and another daughter aged 12.
Her very last words to Mr Karuku as she left the house were: "I love you too much. You are the reason I live to work. I try to give you all my efforts and although it is not easy, God rules".
In tears, Mr Karuku says that whoever was involved in their mother's murder has managed to "strike at the most painful place in our hearts".
He said that "through the murder, you have managed to throw our lives into a tailspin where my Grade eight twins and our last born Grade seven sister now do not know who will pay for our food, rent, medicines, school fees and clothes".
Mr Karuku said her death has cast a shadow of gloom that only God's unfailing grace can comfort.
"She had sacrificed a lot to pay our school fees, feed the other three of my siblings and pay rent for us and God knows how hard it will be for us...but she had taught us to pray and remain optimistic for a better tomorrow," he said.
He said he would now try to find any legally acceptable job to support his siblings.
"And after we bury her on 11 April, I will go to the Kandara sub-county police headquarters every Saturday to inquire about the status of justice for my mother. It should not be normal for people to be found murdered and dumped," he said.
