Puzzle of man found dead in an Embu lodging
Onlookers outside a hotel in Runyenjes town in Embu County where a man was found dead on October 7, 2022.
Police are trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of a man in a lodging at Runyenjes town in Embu County.
A female companion who was last seen with the man who hailed from Tharaka Nithi is also being sought by the law enforcement officers to explain what transpired.
He was believed to have travelled to Embu, more than 30 kilometres from his home for a ‘mission’ which is yet to be established.
The man booked a room at a local hotel together with a woman on Thursday evening and retired to bed.
However, on Friday morning, hotel workers who had gone to clean the room found the lifeless body of the man lying on the bed while the lady was missing.
The panic stricken workers hurriedly reported the matter to the police who rushed to the scene to carry out investigations.
What baffled the officers is that the scene was not disturbed and the victim showed no signs of strangulation.
The man was fully dressed and police want to establish the circumstances under which he met his death.
Embu East deputy police boss Monica Mwarania said the body of the victim was moved to Embu County Referral Hospital mortuary for postmortem.
"The man had his clothes on and bore no physical injuries and we don't know what happened to him. A postmortem examination will reveal the cause of death," said Ms Mwarania.
However, the deputy police boss could not reveal the name of the victim as his next of kin had not been informed.
She appealed to the hotel workers and the residents to cooperate and avail information on the death.
As news of the mysterious death spread, scores of residents milled at the scene and police had a hectic time trying to keep them at bay.
" The victim is from Chuka and we don't know what he had come to do in Embu," one of the residents, Mr Patrick Murimi said.
The incident comes barely a week after seven members of the same family died in a house fire in a suspected arson attack.
The victims were sleeping in the family timber house at Gicheche in Runyenjes when the tragedy struck.
Detectives are looking into the cause of the fire.
Earlier, a senior retired officer from Embu went missing for days, only to be found dead in a lodging in Isiolo.
In the past one month, 10 people have been found dead in the region and the mystery surrounding their deaths is yet to be resolved.
