Residents of Maosi Village in Nyamira County and Ndhiwa in Homa Bay County were left in shock after the bodies of two women were found buried in two shallow graves.
Faith Kemunto Obino, 20, went missing from her parents' home in Maosi village, Nyamira County, a month ago. She was set to join Machakos University this September.
Her phone had been switched off the entire time. However, two days ago, while the search was ongoing, the family received a text message from her mobile number.
The message, sent to her brother's phone, is suspected to have been authored by the deceased’s alleged boyfriend, Gideon Makori.
The sender asked Kemunto's brother to send Sh500, but he declined.
A day later, Kemunto’s brother received another text message with shocking details that Kemunto had been killed and buried somewhere.
According to Kemunto's uncle Maroko Maina, the message read: "Fay Tulimuua na tukamzika (We killed Fay and buried her)!"
The sender shared the location of the grave, which was in a quarry.
Upon receiving this information, Kemunto’s brother hurried home to tell his parents. They then went to Ekerenyo to report the matter to the police.
En route to the quarry, the detectives came across some clothing that the family said belonged to their daughter. As they proceeded further, they were met with a foul smell.
On Thursday morning, a multi-agency team of DCI officers and public health officials from Nyamira proceeded to the scene, where they exhumed a decomposing body alleged to be Faith's.
Speaking to journalists, Kemunto’s parents said that their daughter had left home over a month ago to elope with her boyfriend.
The deceased’s mother, Grace Nyaitondi, said that she knew her daughter was dating, but she had never introduced the man to the family.
Ms Nyaitondi said that she had once told her daughter to focus on her studies, but that she was determined to be in a relationship with her boyfriend.
Kemunto’s father, Charles Obino, said he could not believe what had happened to his youngest daughter, who he described as a hardworking woman. He urged the police to help them find out what had happened.
“My daughter was a hardworking young woman. I have nothing to say other than to ask the authorities to help us know the truth,” Mr Obino said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, authorities in Ndhiwa exhumed the body of an unidentified woman buried in a shallow grave in Wachara sublocation.
Ndhiwa Deputy County Commissioner Lucy Ndemo said that her office had been notified of the incident after a group of schoolchildren stumbled upon the grave in Ngere village.
The pupils had been walking home when they noticed a foul smell coming from the path they were on. They also spotted dogs gathering in the same area.
“The learners notified some residents who reported the case to the assistant chief. The body was covered using dry maize husks when it was found,” Ms Ndemo said.
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who took over the case, applied to the court for permission to exhume the body and begin their investigation.
“Not even the villagers who were at the scene could tell who she was,” the administrator said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman had been murdered elsewhere and her body had been taken to the scene, which is close to the main road connecting Rodi Kopany and Sori.
Ms Ndemo appealed to members of the public with missing relatives to report to Ndhiwa police station and assist the officers in identifying the deceased.
The body was taken to the mortuary at Homa Bay County Referral Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
