Town in shock as court clerk, wife and children are killed

A Judiciary employee, his wife and their two children were Friday found murdered in their house in Kirinyaga county.

The court clerk, Zedrick Kunyu, 33, and his wife Jane Kunyu, 32 were killed on Jamhuri Day when a gang raided their rental house at Miringairi estate in Kerugoya town. Their children Hardy Kunyu, 10 and six-year-old Griffin Kunyu, were not spared.

“Kunyu is related to the Kerugoya High court Judge Mr Boaz Olao. There is no secret about that,” said one of his colleagues at the scene.
County police commander Christine Mutua confirmed that Mr Kunyu, 33, whose wife was involved in business in the area, was related to the judge.

Hours after news of the killings, Justice Olao arrived at the scene, but the bodies had already been taken to the mortuary. He drove off without talking to the press.

News of the killings sent shockwaves across Kerugoya.

The family was said to be in the house at night when the gang attacked. They were hacked to death and their bodies dumped on the floor. The bodies of the couple and the children were in different rooms.

A neighbour discovered the bodies after she went to the house to find out why the family was taking long to wake up.

She said she knocked on the door several times and getting no response, forced it open only to make the gory discovery. She screamed and fled, attracting attention of other neighbours.

Police arrived at the scene minutes later. A blood-stained axe was discovered in a corner of one of the rooms.

The estate was engulfed in sorrow and grief as the four bodies were loaded onto a police vehicle to be taken to the mortuary.

A relative of the family collapsed on seeing the bodies and had to be assisted when she regained consciousness. 

The police boss said a TV set and other valuables were missing from the house, adding that the killing was possibly planned.

“Although some property was stolen, we can’t rule out possibility that the gangsters were out to murder. We are yet to establish the reason or issues that led to this,” she said.

She added that investigations had been launched to establish those involved and the motive behind the killings. The police chief also said she found it strange that neighbours did not hear anything.

“We are also looking into the angle of neighbours having been drugged. It is not common for a killing of this magnitude to happen at a place like this with neighbours hearing nothing,” Mrs Mutua said. She appealed to residents to cooperate with police and volunteer information which could lead to arrest of the killers.

The police boss said they will not rest until the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to book. Kirinyaga governor Joseph Ndathi condemned the killings and called on police to get to the bottom of the matter.

“They should move in fast and bring the culprits to book,” he said.

Mr Ndathi said that security had improved in the area and that the incident was an isolated one. The area Member of Parliament, Mr Gachoki Gitari, was also at the scene.

He decribed the incident as the worst in recent times, and called on the police to beef up security in all towns, especially during this festive season.

Last year, another court clerk was hacked to death in the same locality, prompting street protests by residents.

Friday, the residents expressed fears that a killer gang that had been terrorising them a few years ago had made a comeback.

“Last year, many people were killed by a terror gang linked to a particular sect and we fear that it has returned,” one of the residents said.

Following the killings, hundreds of Kerugoya residents, including traders, poured into the streets to demonstrate. They demanded immediate arrests.

They blocked the major roads leading into the town. However, no serious incidents were reported during the protests.