Jailbird found ‘murdered’ at his Nithi home
Police collect the body of Kenneth Gitonga who was found murdered in his house in Ruguta village in Muthambi Sub-County in Tharaka-Nithi County on February 7, 2023.
The body of a notorious jailbird was found lying in a pool of blood in his house in Ruguta village in Tharaka Nithi County on Tuesday in a suspected case of murder.
Kenneth Gitonga had been beaten to death and his hands broken, according to Mitheru Chief Robert Micheni, who visited the scene in the company of police officers after receiving information from a local resident.
After processing the crime scene, the body was taken to Chuka County Referral Hospital mortuary as police launched investigations into the death.
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“We found the door wide open and the lifeless body of Gitonga lying on the veranda with broken hands, suggesting that he was beaten to death using crude weapons,” said Mr Micheni.
Mr Micheni told the media that Gitonga, who has been terrorising the villagers by breaking into their homes to steal, returned home from prison at the end of last year after serving a jail term for theft.
Gitonga, however, was not reformed, because immediately after the end of the jail term, he resumed his criminal life.
The chief said he summoned him to his office several times, warning him against crime following complaints from residents.
The chief said Gitonga went on with his criminal activities and even chased away from home his parents and other relatives.
Community threat
Residents who spoke to the media said Gitonga was a threat to his family and the entire community.
“We are not mourning Gitonga because he was not only a threat to us, but also his family members whom he had chased away from home,” said a resident.
Mr Nicholas Mutembei, a resident, said Gitonga would break into houses even during the day, forcing the villagers to ensure there was someone looking after their homes at all times.
Villagers suspect Gitonga might have been killed by either angry residents, or his fellow criminals, perhaps after a disagreement over a theft deal.
The chief, however, warned the villagers against taking the law into their hands by killing suspected criminals and assured them that police will do thorough investigations to establish Gitonga's killers so that they can face the law.
He said although the residents have been complaining that criminals are jailed for a very short time only to come back to the village to terrorise them, Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law.
