Charles Muchuha, 28, (left) an Uber driver from Kiambu whose body was recovered on January 23 along the Kabarnet-Iten road and Daniel Kinuthia, 34, a mason from Ruiru, Kiambu County, whose body was recovered alongside that of Mr Muchuha.
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Mystery of two Kiambu men strangled and bodies dumped 350km away
What you need to know:
- One of the slain men was picked up on January 18 by people who identified themselves as security officers.
- Families say the men were law-abiding citizens as they call for speedy investigations into the murders.
Mystery surrounds the deaths of two friends who were taken from their Kiambu County homes, strangled and their naked bodies dumped more than 350 kilometres away in Elgeyo Marakwet, after their families said one was picked up by people who identified themselves as police officers.
The bodies of Charles Muchuha, a 28-year-old taxi driver from Kiamaiko village, and Daniel Kinuthia, 34, a mason from Murera village in Ruiru, were found on the Kabarnet-Iten road on January 25, one week after they went missing.
A third body that was found near the scene on the same day was identified as that of Abdulrahim Adow, a Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officer in Embu County.
A post-mortem conducted yesterday on the bodies of Muchuha and Kinuthia showed they had similar injuries and a similar cause of death.
"They both died due to strangulation. They also have soft tissue injuries on the neck and head, which were caused by a blunt object," said Dr Wangari Wambugu.
The mystery surrounding their deaths and their bodies being dumped hundreds of kilometres away deepened yesterday after the family of Muchuha said the father of one was picked up on January 18 by people in civilian clothes who identified themselves as security officers.
The ‘officers’ were reportedly driving a white Toyota Axio car.
Mr Peter Ng’ang’a, Muchuha’s uncle, said the taxi driver, who was with a relative, was taken at 1;30pm.
Missing man
"His phone was switched off immediately and we thought maybe it was a traffic offence. We went to Huruma Police Station, but we were told he was not there. We wrote a statement," said Mr Ng'ang'a.
Thus began a six-day-long search for the missing man at police cells, prisons, and mortuaries in Nairobi and Kiambu counties.
"We even reported to the DCI headquarters, but we received no help until when we were told by detectives based in Kabarnet through our chief that the fingerprints on one of the bodies matched those of our relative," said Mr Ng’ang’a.
The family wants justice for their murdered relative.
“He was a law abiding citizen and we are still perturbed why he had to be killed and his body dumped hundreds of kilometres away. We are demanding justice, and to know what befell him because he went through a lot of torture," said Mr Ng'ang'a while fighting back tears.
Kinuthia went missing a day after Muchuha. And just like in Muchuha’s case, he was picked up by men in a car.
Mr Samuel Ndung'u, his cousin, said he went missing at 1pm.
Kinuthia was in his house that day, when his wife left to take lunch to their children in school.
"She left him in the house and when he returned, he was not in the house. An hour later, one of the neighbours told her that he had heard someone asking Kinuthia to come out of the house," said Mr Ndung'u.
Brutal killing
Then the wife remembered that when she was leaving the house, she saw a Toyota Probox outside the gate. She did not sense anything sinister, but in hindsight, she suspects the people in the car might be the ones who took her husband.
The family searched for him in hospitals and police cells, in vain. Then came the call by detectives in Kabarnet confirming the worst.
“We are shocked and are asking a lot of questions on the circumstances that might have led to his brutal killing and his body recovered far away. We need a speedy investigation and justice dispensed," said Mr Ndung’u.
The family said the father of four has never been arrested in connection to any crime.
The body of Adow, the Embu-based DCI officer, which was found not too far from those of the two friends, also showed signs of torture.
His brother Abdikadir Adow said the body had injuries everywhere, and the hands were tied together.
“The limbs were also broken. The police are not helpful either, yet our brother was one of them. We wonder why he had to be killed in such a manner,” Mr Adow said.
The family is demanding justice, and asked that the police unravel why the officer was tortured, killed, and his body dumped hundreds of kilometres away.
