Three men travelled to buy cattle, body parts of two found
Ms Florence Kagendo holds her husband’s photo during an interview. He was killed on August 31, 2023.
What you need to know:
- On Saturday, September 2, two heads, three hands and clothes were found in the bushes near Kinna and taken to the mortuary at Nyambene Level Four Hospital.
- Families of the deceased were told that the DNA results of some of the bones recovered with the body parts would take several months to be released.
A village in Tharaka Nithi County is still in shock after burying the body parts of two men allegedly killed by bandits in Kinna, Igembe North, Meru County, almost two months ago.
John Kamwara, Vincent Majira and Ben Nyaga travelled to Kinna on August 31, 2023, to buy cattle but never returned.
Florence Kagendo, Kamwara's wife, said her husband travelled on a Thursday (August 31), as had been his tradition for the past 10 years since he started trading in cattle, and on Friday she called him to find out if he had arrived safely.
"His phone was switched off, but I was not worried because I thought he was out of the network. But when I still could not reach him in the evening, I got concerned," she said in an interview in Ntoroni village.
On Saturday, September 2, they were informed that body parts of two people had been found in the bushes near Kinna and taken to the mortuary at Nyambene Level Four Hospital.
Peter Mutiria, Kamwara's elder brother, accompanied by Kagendo, Juliah Mukami (Nyaga's wife) and Majira's wife Lydia Kathini, quickly travelled to Nyambene where they were confronted with the shocking news.
They were shown two heads, three hands and clothes recovered from a thicket, and police said initial investigations suggested the men had been killed by bandits and their bodies left in the bush to be eaten by hyenas.
Tharaka North police boss Gabriel Kimanzi said investigations were still ongoing and called on members of the public with information about the killings to record statements and help police with their probe.
“Investigations are at an advanced stage and we will brief the families on the progress in due course. We urge them to be patient,” Mr Kimanzi said.
The families identified the heads as those of Kamwara and Nyaga, while the clothes were those Majira was wearing when he left home, Kathini said.
“It was easy to identify the heads because the faces were intact. Two hands were Nyaga’s because they resembled [each other], while the other was Kamwara's because it resembled mine,” said Mutiria, adding that Majira is still missing.
Dissatisfied with the results, and accusing the police of being reluctant to search for Majira's body because they assumed he had also been killed, Mutiria mobilised other family members and villagers who travelled to Kinna on September 7 to search for the body.
“We were accompanied by officers from Gatunga police station and others from Meru and we combed the bushes but did not find anything. It was a wild goose chase and we discovered that the police knew nothing would come out of the search and that they wanted to please us,” said Mutiria.
They were also told that the DNA results of some of the bones recovered with the body parts would take several months to be released and with the mortuary fees mounting daily, they decided to bury the body parts on October 7.
“I laid my husband to rest, but I am still haunted by the fact that I only buried a head and one hand. It is traumatising to wake up every day thinking about the other parts of the body,” Kagendo said.
Asked what she would do if the DNA results showed that some of the bones were her husband's, she said: "I don't know. The family will decide because we cannot wait for the results. We will consult the elders and settle the matter."
Majira's family is also crying foul, saying they were shocked to learn that his clothes had been burnt at the mortuary. Police, however, denied having any information that the clothes were burnt and Mr Kimanzi said they would investigate the matter.
“Who burnt my husband’s clothes without my knowledge and what evidence did they want to conceal? I thought such items were kept safe so that they can help with the investigations,” said Kathini.
Ms Lydia Kathini's husband Vincent Majira went missing at Kinna, Imenti North on October 19, 2023.
She is also seeking help to have her husband declared dead and get a death certificate so that she can move on. But according to the law on when a missing person is declared dead, Kathini may have to wait up to seven years.
Despite the dangers involved in the lucrative livestock trade, some businessmen still dare to travel to Kinna to buy animals.
Peter Mwambi, who was supposed to accompany the three men on the ill-fated trip, says he is lucky to be alive. He could not travel with them because he did not have enough money to buy livestock that day.
“The herders are usually armed with guns and when they take you into the bush they sometimes dictate prices. It’s so risky that we have to agree to their prices. But all the same we make money because a cow that costs Sh20,000 can fetch up to Sh40,000 in our markets,” he says.
