Charles Edward, who was found murdered inside his house in Mamboleo on Sunday night.
On Monday morning, Grace Wangechi woke up earlier than usual, eager to welcome her husband Charles Edward home.
She swept the compound, cleaned the house and prepared breakfast, looking forward to seeing Edward after nearly two weeks apart.
He had promised to arrive with shopping for the family before leaving for Kakamega to operationalise a new posho mill business.
Instead of embracing her husband that afternoon, she received a phone call that shattered her world.
“My daughter, he is not coming,” her father-in-law told her.
Moments later, Wangechi learnt that her husband Edward had been found dead inside his rented house in Mamboleo, Kisumu.
Charles Edward, who was found murdered inside his house in Mamboleo on Sunday night.
What investigators are now piecing together is a chilling chain of events that began with a mysterious visitor on Sunday night and ended with the businessman lying dead on his living room floor.
The couple, married since 2018, were raising two children aged eight years and one year.
Ms Wangechi said she last saw her husband on July 14 when he briefly returned home before leaving for work in Kisumu.
His work had delayed his usual weekly visit because he was overseeing a business project in Kakamega.
On Saturday night, they spoke for what would become the final time.
She asked him to send money for household expenses, which he did and promised to return home on Monday with shopping before travelling to Kakamega.
Charles Edward, who was found murdered inside his house in Mamboleo on Sunday night.
By Monday afternoon, however, his phone had gone silent.
Calls went unanswered before the line eventually became unreachable and then came the devastating call from her father-in-law.
“For a moment, I did not know where I was. We had so many dreams together. Sadly, they will remain dreams,” she recalled through tears.
While his family waited for him in Vihiga, events were unfolding inside his rented house in Mamboleo.
His close friend and neighbour, Festus Kirui, believes he was among the last people to speak to him alive.
Festus Kirui, who discovered the lifeless body of Charles Edward inside his house in Mamboleo, speaks during an interview at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary on July 28, 2026.
The two had lived in the same compound for more than four years and routinely cooked and spent evenings together.
On Sunday night, Mr Kirui left shortly after 9pm to buy bread and minutes later, he received a text message from Edward saying he had a visitor who did not want to be seen.
Because they normally cooked together and the cooking gas was inside Edward's house, Mr Kirui asked how he was expected to prepare tea.
His friend simply told him to find another way and curious, Mr Kirui asked who the visitor was.
According to him, Edward replied that it was a woman with whom he had a child and whose husband had previously warned him to stay away.
He allegedly added that the woman had arrived while intoxicated after leaving her vehicle at an entertainment spot in Mamboleo.
The following morning, at around 9am, Kirui texted to ask whether the visitor had left, but there was no response. Repeated calls also went unanswered.
At about 11am, after finishing his household chores, he walked to Edward's house and found the door unlocked.
Inside, he found his friend lying motionless in a pool of blood and immediately alerted neighbours before police arrived.
Mr Kirui says officers later noticed signs suggesting Edward had also been strangled.
The visitor he had mentioned the previous night had also disappeared, with neighbours reporting hearing no screams or signs of a struggle during the night.
His mobile phone remained on a table and cash inside the house had not been taken.
Investigators also found a handwritten message on a wall inside the house.
“Mimi sio mwizi, huyu jamaa amezalisha bibi yangu mtoto, saa hii nameza dawa...”I am not a thief. This man fathered a child with my wife. Now I am on medication...”
Police are yet to establish who wrote the message or whether it is connected to the killing.
Kirui claims that about two months earlier, Edward had confided that he had received threatening phone calls from a man accusing him of having a relationship with his wife and fathering her child.
Whether those allegations are true remains one of the key questions detectives are investigating.
Back in Vihiga, relatives travelled to Kisumu hoping reports of his death were false.
Instead, they found his body at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.
His younger brother Jadiel Ang'ana said the family had last communicated with him on Saturday through a WhatsApp group organising funeral contributions for another relative where Edward was serving as treasurer.
Jadiel Ang'ana, younger brother of Charles Edward, who was found murdered inside his house in Mamboleo on Sunday night.
“He was supposed to guide us on the contributions on Sunday evening, but he never responded,” he said.
A post-mortem examination concluded that Edward died from severe head injuries caused by a blunt object.
Kisumu East Sub-county Police Commander Evaline Cherotich said detectives are continuing with investigations into the killing.
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