Missing Nakuru M-Pesa agent found dead after week-long search

Missing M-Pesa agent, Hannah Waithera, has been found dead at the Nakuru City Mortuary, seven days after her disappearance.

Waithera went missing without a trace on May 21, after she left her work place along Kenyatta Avenue to deposit sh 250,000 from work. 

In an interview with a family friend, Samuel Muiruri, he noted that the family received a call from the police informing them that a young woman’s body had been found and requested them go to the mortuary and identify it.

Additionally, he mentioned that the alert regarding Waithera's location came from residents of Nakuru West, Technology Farm, on Monday, May 26. The residents were drawn to the area by a foul smell.

“From the report we received, we were told Waithera was found in a cow’s trough and was covered with grass. The residents then alerted the police, who came and took the body to Kwa Jack, where family and friends were able to identify her,” he says with a heavy voice.

Asked about the state in which she was found, Maina shared that the body had started decomposing and had grass stuck to areas that had been in contact with the grass used to cover her at Technology Farm.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Waithera’s aunt, Ann Nduta, says the family only wants justice for Waithera, whose life was cut short at a very young age.

“As a family, we are still in shock. We hoped she would come back to us safe and sound. She has a three-year-old daughter and a husband waiting for her at home, as well as siblings and a mother. Now, their lives have been changed forever. All we seek is justice,” she says amid tears.

According to the Sub-County Commander of Nakuru West, Stephen Kirui, he received information from a manager at Technology Farm on Monday morning that there was a decomposed body on their premises.

“We mobilized officers and went to the scene, where we found a deceased adult female. The body had already begun decomposing, so we could not immediately determine if there were any physical injuries,” he says.

He noted that the body was later moved to the Nakuru County Mortuary for further investigation, including taking fingerprints, as the deceased did not have any identification documents on her.

Kirui stated that preliminary investigations suggested the woman was murdered elsewhere and her body dumped at the location, likely chosen because it is isolated.