Crimes this week: Murders dominate headlines

As the country struggles to heal from the disappearances leading to killings, this week proved difficult for the process as the headlines were flooded with a similar case and several cold-blooded murders.

Among the murder incidents was the disappearance and murder of Wells Fargo boss Willis Ayieko.

Ayieko was reported to have disappeared on Friday, October 18.

Following the autopsy, Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor said Ayieko’s death resulted from brain haemorrhaging caused by severe head trauma.

“There was bleeding to the brain. Additionally, there were bruises on the wrists from some cuffs found on him, and tissue was missing from his mouth, ear, and cheek,” Oduor said.

Oduor explained that the missing tissue on Ayieko’s body likely resulted from animal predation at the site where the body was found.

One of the suspects, Victor Okoth Ouma, was arrested in Nairobi’s Dandora estate and presented at the Siaya Law Courts on Wednesday.

Investigators were granted 21 days to detain the suspect as part of their probe.

Police said Ouma was placed at the crime scene through forensic analysis.

Elsewhere, Police said a trainee catholic nun who went missing from Rongo Catholic Church on Thursday, October 24, was found dead in a sewer pit within the Rongo parish sister convent.

Police said they are investigating both murder and drowning into the incident.

Homa Bay diocese vicar general Gabriel Atieno said the body of the deceased identified as Yvonne Jirangwa, 23, was found floating inside a sewer pit within the sister convent by one of the nuns who was heading to the farm.

Jirangwa went missing on October 24, the sisters reported the matter to Rongo police station.

This was after efforts to trace her the whole day turned futile.

Police and witnesses said her body was found on Sunday, October 27 afternoon.

In another murder case, police launched a manhunt for a suspect in the murders of 29-year-old man John Olando Abwaya.

Police said Ambwaya was fatally stabbed during a violent incident in the Valley Bridge area of Kiamaiko, Huruma.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect fled the scene after the fatal confrontation.

The incident occurred at a local car wash where the person of interest was involved in an altercation with his ex-wife.

DCI said the witnesses reported the person of interest struck his ex-wife on the head with a stone, rendering her unconscious.

Seeing the escalation, Olando intervened in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Tragically, the man then drew a dagger and attacked Olando, fatally stabbing him in the neck.

Bystanders rushed the injured Olando to Huruma Nursing Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.

In another murder case, human remains suspected to be of an adult were found on an idle farm in Kipipiri, Nyandarua County. This raised fears of a high probability of more bodies being dumped.

Workers on the land ploughed the section near Lereshwa River when they made the discovery.

The remains were rib, vertebrae and limb bones.

Police processed the scene and took the remains to JM Kariuki Level 5 Hospital mortuary, awaiting postmortem and identification.

In a tragic turn of events, police launched a hunt for a woman who beat her six-year-old son to death in Manunga, Nyandarua County.

The boy had broken the family’s television set valued at Sh14,000.

Police said the boy complained of pain as he went to sleep on October 28, after the punishment.

The following day, he was found dead in his room.

It is believed he died of injuries from the punishment.

Police said the boy’s father was not at home at the time of the incident. He was, however, informed of the incident and went to sleep.

The following morning, when he sought to know how his son was doing, he was told he was dead.

The body was taken to JM Kariuki Level 5 Hospital mortuary in Olkalou awaiting postmortem.

In Nairobi, police launched investigations following a case where the body of a 34-year-old woman was found in a thicket on Monday, October 28.

Police said the woman was identified as Jennifer Mutheu Nzula.

The body had been stuffed into a sack and tied up with a laundry cloth cover on the thicket edge along Githuguri Road in the area, police said.

The body had no visible injuries when it was discovered.

Police said the motive of the murder is yet to be established.

The body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy and investigations.

Police said they suspect the woman was killed elsewhere and the body dumped at the site.

Homicide departments struggle to contain murder cases

Homicide detectives are scrambling to address the rising rate of murder cases amid claims of an underfunded police force. Up to two murder cases are reported daily, which leaves police struggling.

Whereas some have been solved, the bulk remains unsolved for long.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said there has been a slight increase in murder cases in the past months, adding that a comparative analysis of the cases reported from August to October for the years 2022-24, indicates a slight increase.

In 2024, 339 murder cases have so far been recorded, compared with 336 cases in 2023 and 341 cases in 2022.

Director of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said they can stop murders where they have prior information on the plans.

“This is something one plans to commit or can happen in some circumstances, which none can prevent. Unless we have prior information, it would be difficult to stop the same,” he added.

In 2022, there were 3,056 cases of homicide, 3,281 in 2021, 3,111 in 2020, 2,971 in 2019 and 2,856 in 2018.