Three murders, a mother of three and a chilling postmortem report

The three murder cases reported in Njoro within two months, are now evoking fear among residents, who say it is high time security agencies addressed the insecurity in the area.

Of the three, two involved rape and killing of two women and while one was where a man whose body was dumped in River Ndarugu.

The most recent victim is 40-year-old Mercy Wambui, who was murdered on Sunday, August 10. Her body was recovered from River Ndarugu three days later, on Wednesday, August 13.

At her home in Piave, Njoro, grief hangs heavy as family and friends gather to mourn her death.

According to her daughter, Florence Wanjiku, the last time she saw her mother was on Sunday evening at around 6:30 pm, when she escorted her to the matatu terminus.

“Mum had come to visit me at my home in Free Area. She wanted to see my two-month-old baby and teach me one or two things about caring for the child. Little did I know those would be the last lessons I would ever receive from her,” she says amid tears.

After her mother left, unanswered calls followed when Wanjiku tried to check if she had arrived home safely. She assumed her phone battery had died.

“On Monday morning, when she still wasn’t picking calls, I grew suspicious. I reached out to relatives, including my aunt, who confirmed that mum had not made it home on Sunday,” she recalls.

According to Wambui’s husband, Charles Kibe, reports of his wife’s disappearance reached him on Monday from her daughter while he was in Narok, where he works.

He traveled to Njoro and filed a missing person report at the Njoro police station on Tuesday morning.

“After making the report, we formed a search team with family, friends, and neighbors. That day we found one of her shoes and shawl by the riverbank, but there were no other signs of her. On Wednesday, while we continued searching, we were notified of a woman’s body spotted downstream. Sadly, it was Wambui,” he explains, after which the body was moved to Egerton University Mortuary.

Kibe describes Wambui as a loving and supportive wife who cared for their three children while he was away for work. He says she was a happy person who loved laughing a lot.

In an interview with Mtaa Wangu, Wambui’s aunt, Miriam Wanjiru, revealed post-mortem results showed she had been sexually assaulted, stabbed on the chin, and had five ribs broken.

“The report also confirmed she was strangled. When her body was pulled from the water, her face was so damaged that we could only identify her by her clothes,” she says.

The grieving family is now demanding justice for their kin who was brutally murdered.

Wambui’s other aunt, Mary Muthoni, urged police to speed up investigations and beef up security, pointing out that Wambui’s case is not isolated.

“There is a chilling scare in this area. People are fearing for their lives and keep asking: Has the killer been caught? How safe are we in our homes?” she asks.

Community leader Sospeter Njuguna added that residents feel vulnerable even inside their houses.

“Just a month ago, ‘Shosh Salome,’ who lived near the river where Wambui was found, was killed in her house after being sexually assaulted. That brings us to the question, who will protect us? Three deaths have been recorded, yet no suspects have been taken to court,” he says.

Njuguna further revealed that during Wambui's search, a man found near the bank was arrested. Several national ID cards were also recovered near a semi-permanent dwelling by the riverbank, along with knives and cooking pots.

He is now appealing to Area MP Charity Gathambi to push for security lighting in the area to complement police efforts.

“Residents need answers on whether the owners of the National Identification Cards recovered by the bank of river Ndarugu are safe. As of now, more needs to be done to end this fear that is paralyzing Njoro,” he concludes.