Family in mourning as elderly couple found allegedly murdered in Rongai

His homestead is quiet, with a striped blue-and-orange tent pitched beside the house.

Blue plastic chairs are still stacked neatly, waiting for visitors who walk in one by one, quietly and somberly.

They are here to mourn Joseph Kihiti Ndegwa, a man who, despite being in his ninth decade and one might assume had lived a full life, was allegedly murdered.

Ndegwa, together with his second wife, Rose Wanjiku, 63, is believed to have been attacked on the evening of October 31 at their home in Muthega Farm, Rongai Sub-county.

His 10th-born son out of twelve children, David Mbugua Kihiti, says the family first received word of the tragedy on Sunday, November 2, through neighbors who called his sister, Veronica Mwangi.

She, in turn, alerted their elder brother, John Njogu, who lives in Rongai, asking him to rush home because something seemed wrong.

"When John arrived with the wazee wa nyumba kumi, that's when they discovered what had happened. It's still hard to believe because my father and stepmother had never quarreled with anyone. They lived quietly, just the two of them, and now no one has been left in that home," Mbugua says sadly.

"A postmortem was conducted yesterday, which revealed that both died from the impact of blunt force trauma. My father was hit on the head, and my mother on the left side of the head. She had a broken shoulder and hand," Mbugua explains.

He says police have been at the scene since Sunday, collecting evidence, and the family is anxiously waiting for answers to help them understand the motive behind the killings.

The family says no suspects have been mentioned so far, and they are completely in the dark.

He describes his father as a very strong man who, despite his age, could still ride a motorcycle and work his farm alone.

"He didn't have any help and never quarreled with anyone. He lived a quiet, hardworking life here and preached at CMM church in Rigogo Farm," he says.

Mbugua explains that according to the milkman, who would come every morning to collect milk his father placed outside the gate, on Saturday, he found the gate closed with no milk outside. He assumed Mzee had visitors and left.

He adds that his father was also a pastor, and every Sunday, a friend would come to pick him up for church. But that Sunday, when they arrived, the gate was locked and his phone was off.

Thinking he was late, they went to church expecting to find him there, but he wasn't. That's when they went back and informed the wazee wa nyumba kumi that they suspected something could be wrong at his home.

"When they arrived here, they then called my sister, who then called our brother. They accessed the house in his company, having found the back door leading to the kitchen slightly open with some blood outside. From the blood stains, it appears the first attack happened at the kitchen entrance. That's where the first blow landed, and the blood trail extended into the sitting room. We don't know whether our father tried to run or fight back, but his body was later found on the bed," he explains.

He says that from what they were told, his father's body had already started decomposing — a sign that he had not been killed the previous day as earlier thought, but probably a day or two before.

"Nothing was stolen from the house. The only things missing are their phones, which we've been trying to trace since yesterday. We also found an axe in the toilet, which we suspect was used in the attack. We immediately informed the DCI officers, and they told us to lock the toilet until they came to collect it. I latched it then added a padlock, but have since unlocked it as no one is around to use it other than me. Up to now, since Monday, they have not come for it," Mbugua reveals.

Mbugua recalls that on Mashujaa Day, October 20, his four sisters had visited to check on their father and seek his consent to organize a small birthday celebration for his upcoming 90th birthday. "They said he was doing well and had no complaints."

"You see, my father was not the kind of man to hold grudges or keep quiet when something bothered him — not with the kind of elders they were. He would speak his mind and sort out any issue right away. The only thing he had complained about recently was that his chickens were being stolen. We don't want to believe that a petty chicken thief could be behind such a brutal killing," Mbugua says.

Police have since processed the crime scene and given the family the go-ahead to clean the house in preparation for the burial, which will happen on November 8.

"You know, losing a parent is never easy. We had already lost our mother, and now to lose our father, our only remaining parent, in such a cruel way, it's devastating," he says, adding that they are urging the police to speed their investigations to find the perpetrator of the heinous act.