An eerie silence hangs in the air as you enter octogenarian Joseph Ndegwa's homestead in Njoguini village, Laikipia County, giving the impression of a haunted place.
Curious neighbours and family members watch from a distance, chatting in low tones, their eyes fixed on the police officers guarding the compound.
Police yellow crime scene tapes have sealed off Mzee Joseph Ndegwa's house.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation
The homestead was declared a crime scene following Mr Ndegwa's mysterious disappearance late last month and his son was treated as a prime suspect, with homicide detectives taking over the case to investigate a possible murder.
Indeed, the son, Mr Anthony Gitonga, 54, reportedly confessed to killing his 81-year-old father and later led detectives to a shallow grave in the same compound where he claimed to have buried him.
When the Nation.Africa team visited the house on Thursday, July 11, family members and neighbours who had been keeping a low profile pointed the media to the "grave", which had been covered with dry acacia branches and marked "crime scene", making it inaccessible to the public.
Villagers described the suspect in the yet-to-be-determined murder as a loner who had never had a family.
Residents of Njoguini village in Laikipia County at the site where Mzee Joseph Ndegwa is believed to have been buried on his farm.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation
It is not yet clear why the son would turn against his elderly father, with whom he had lived before the disappearance. But according to family members, Mr Gitonga had complained about his father's extravagance.
"The last time we spoke to my brother, he complained that our father was living extravagantly after selling some of the family cattle. He protested that our ageing father was spending a lot of money and time at a local bar buying beers for friends and acquaintances," said Ms Jennifer Wanjiru, the last-born daughter who lives with her family in Nairobi.
Jennifer Wanjiru, daughter of Mzee Joseph Ndegwa, during an interview at their home in Njoguini village, Laikipia County.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation
The missing octogenarian had moved to the homestead five months ago from Kigwandi village in Nyeri County where his second wife, Ms Esther Wanja, lives with their children. His first wife, a mother of four, died 14 years ago.
"My husband moved here in February this year and told me he was coming to sell some of his sheep and goats. I spoke to him two weeks ago when I asked him to come home and meet our daughter who is in Form One during the recent half-term break but he did not come as promised," said Ms Wanja.
According to Mr Ndegwa's granddaughter, Ms Eunice Muhindi, who lives in a neighbouring village, his grandfather had sold a cow for Sh41,000 a few days before he was reported missing.
"He sold the cow and had become a spendthrift, sometimes not returning home after a night of drinking and staying in rented rooms at Chuma Shopping Centre.
This kind of lifestyle could have caused bad blood with his son as he had also threatened to sell some of the family land," said Ms Muhindi, a Community Health Promoter in Tigithi Ward.
A member of the local Nyumba Kumi Initiative, Mr Jackson Muriithi, said he heard about the old man last Sunday, July 7.
"I was at the local shopping centre and some curious people asked me when I had last seen Mzee Joseph Ndegwa, affectionately known as Thota. We then decided to look for his son to explain the disappearance but when we approached him, he fled and that raised suspicions," Mr Muriithi explained.
He added that the suspect was later cornered by police officers at Matanya market and when asked about his father's whereabouts, he claimed to have killed him and buried the body in a shallow grave, but warned the police that it was too late to retrieve the remains as "stray dogs had already devoured the body".
Ndegwa's family is currently in agony, unsure whether to begin burial preparations and blaming the police for dragging their feet on the investigation and keeping them in suspense. The discovery of some fresh pieces of bone at the site, although not confirmed to be human, has added to fears that dogs or other wild animals may have dug up some of the remains.
"Some of us have been here since Tuesday, having travelled from far away, and are staying with neighbours as our father's compound is a crime scene. We are not sure if we can start the burial preparations as his death has not been confirmed yet. We are pleading with the police officers to speed up the process so that we can end this fear which has reached explosive levels after some fresh bones were discovered in the compound," said Ms Wanjiru, sobbing.
The daughter says the family has little hope that their patriarch could still be alive and that the suspect could be playing games with them out of frustration to stop his father, a former civil servant, from disposing of family assets and squandering the money.
Last Wednesday, detectives produced the suspect before a Nanyuki court, where they asked for more time to gather evidence, including exhumation of the remains, DNA tests and a post-mortem, which will determine whether the suspect will be charged with murder.
Resident Magistrate Emmaculate Deche issued an exhumation order and also ordered that the suspect be remanded in custody at Ngobit Police Station for 21 days.
