String of murders cast dark cloud over Rongai sub county

A cloud of terror covered Rongai sub county for the better part of this yea rowing to the gruesome murders that were traced to this sub county.

The areas of Kiamunyi, Rongai, Ol Rongai and Baraka made news headlines for the better part of the second half of the year, after bodied of a girl and women were found in various maize plantations.

It all started as an isolated incident, with the killing of Alice Ayuma, a four-year-old who went missing, only for her body to be found in a maize plantation in July.

Preliminary reports showed that Alice was defiled, before being murdered.

It was not until the body of Vera Mugambi was found in a maize plantation in Baraka Estate when alarm was raised. A day before the body of Vera was found, that of Mueni Mwalimu had been discovered in a maize plantation in Ol Rongai.

This immediately raised the possibility of a serial killer on the loose. Residents of Rongai were not at peace.

Mtaa Wangu spoke to Caroline Nanjala the mother of Alice Ayuma who painted a picture of how women were afraid of going out during the day and even at night for fear of being the next victim.

During the months of July, August and September, local leaders held barazas trying to understand the root cause of insecurity in the sub county.

One of the causes of insecurity was attributed to the vast maize plantations in the area and specifically along the land that was leased to individuals by the Kenya Railways Corporation.

This, according to some of the residents, provided hiding places for those who wanted to commit these heinous crimes.

In one of the WhatsApp groups, residents raised a concern at the time when the murders had rocked the area.

[email protected] says, “It is a big shame for us. Our officials should now act without fear and favor”.

Mathews Oriwo, another resident also lamented how their investments in the area would lose value due to the insecurity.

In late September, the authorities caught a break in the case when they arrested the main suspect of the four killings, Ezekiel Mwangi who is currently in jail, with an active case in court.

At the height of insecurity, even the police administration was forced to carry out some changes bringing in a new Rongai sub county police commander, Cecilia Kemboi.

At this juncture and at a time when there were high cases of femicide being recorded in the country, Nakuru was also in the spotlight when the body of Vivian Kajaya, 22-year-old, Mount Kenya University (MKU) student was discovered in a maize plantation in Kiamunyi which is in Rongai Sub County.

In a span of four months, Rongai Sub County image was reduced to an unsafe area that still gives Nakuru residents chills, by the mere mention of its name.