Nancy Muthoni with her husband Ben Maina.
Nancy Muthoni, 36, was last seen on January 23 at 10pm while having supper with her family in Kiharu village, Mukurweini sub-County, Nyeri County.
According to Muthoni's husband, Ben Maina, she informed him that after supper she would be going to her local shopkeeper to settle a debt before she disappeared.
Earlier that day, Muthoni had hosted a chama at her home and received some cash from the group. Mr Maina said his wife had promised to give him Sh7,000 to pay school fees for their daughter, who is in Form Two.
"We usually eat in the living room, but that day she decided to eat in the kitchen," said Mr Maina.
"She left her house at 10pm to pay off a debt she owed the shopkeeper, that was the last day I saw my wife of 17 years," Mr Maina said.
After a restless night, Maina woke up at 5am to prepare his children for school and later set out to look for his wife.
"When I went to our local shopkeeper to inquire about my wife's whereabouts, I was told that she had not gone to the shop," Mr Maina explained.
He then reported the matter to the assistant chief when he realised he could not trace his wife's whereabouts.
On January 25, 2024, the mutilated body of a middle-aged woman was found dumped in a thicket in Kiharu village, Mukurwe-ini sub-County, several kilometres from her home.
According to Mukurweini sub-County Police Commander Beatrice Nyaga, the woman's face was disfigured while her body had bruises on her neck and thighs.
In addition, one of her arms was broken, suggesting that she had struggled briefly with the perpetrator or perpetrators who murdered her.
"When we found her body at 11am, blood was oozing from her nose and mouth and it looked as if she had been strangled," Mr Nyaga said.
A preliminary medical report indicates that the woman was sodomised before she was killed.
Mr Maina said he learnt of his wife's death on Facebook after someone posted a photo of a body dumped on the Thangathi-Ichamara road.
"When I saw the picture on the internet, I noticed the clothes the woman was wearing and they looked familiar. I then went back to confirm if they were my wife's and found that the clothes were not in the wardrobe," Mr Maina told the Nation.
Muthoni's father, Gibson Wanjohi, demanded justice for his last-born daughter, saying she did not deserve to die the way she did.
"My daughter was a human being, not a chicken. We want justice," said Mr Wanjohi.
According to neighbours, Muthoni was a hardworking woman, and kind-hearted.
"On the fateful day, I saw her going to the shop at 7pm," said the deceased's sister-in-law, Grace Munene.
At the scene, there were signs of a struggle between the woman and the suspected killer.
The body, which was dumped in a ditch, was discovered by a woman who was cutting napier grass at her farm. She later reported the matter to the police.
The body was taken to the Mukurweini sub-County Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Police in Mukuruweini are conducting investigations to find the perpetrator.
