Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s spouse, Murega Baichu and her sister Miriam Guantai have recorded police statements in connection with the murder of blogger and political activist Daniel Muthiani also Known as “Sniper”.
The two were summoned by detectives to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Meru and spent the entire afternoon recording statements about what they knew about the murder.
Eastern Region DCI coordinator Mr Lenny Kisaka confirmed the summons. “They recorded statements and we are going on with the investigations. We will inform the public as we progress,” he told the Nation in a phone interview.
Sources indicated that Ms Mwangaza accompanied her family members to the DCI county headquarters at around 2pm after she presided over a Sunday service at her Baite Family Fellowship church.
They spent the better part of Sunday afternoon being interrogated by homicide sleuths led by the director, Mr Martin Nyabuto, and left the offices past 7pm. According to the sources, two other persons who were not immediately identified recorded statements.
With Mr Baichu and Ms Guantai summoned, this means three close family members of the Meru governor have been sucked into the investigation to unravel the mysterious murder.
Among the suspects being questioned by police is Ms Mwangaza’s brother, Murangiri Kenneth Guantai, who detectives have applied at Kiambu Law Courts to continue holding for 21 days alongside five other suspects. They include Kenneth Mutua Matiri, Fredrick Muriuki Kiugu, Frankline Kimathi, Timothy Kinoti Murangiri and Vincent Murithi Kinoti. The ruling will be made on January 17.
Other suspects are Boniface Githinji Njihia alias DJ Kaboom, Brian Mwenda and Grace Kathambi Githinji who were remanded for 21 days pending investigations.
Muthiani went missing on December 2, 2023 before his body was found in a thicket on the banks of Mutonga River in Tharaka-Nithi County on December 16.
A postmortem conducted on December 22 by chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor revealed that the blogger had been tortured before being strangled.
As investigations intensify, it has also emerged that some people who seemingly wanted to conceal the murder tried to mislead the family that Muthiani had been found in Kajiado county.
“On December 16 when we were supposed to travel to Marimanti hospital mortuary to view the body, somebody called and informed us that ‘Sniper’ was in a hospital in Kitengela where he was undergoing treatment. It turned out that those who were trying to conceal the murder intended to divert our attention,” said a member of the family.
Meanwhile, the investigations have taken a political twist after Ms Mwangaza claimed that her close associates were being framed for murder.
While preaching at her church on January 7, Ms Mwangaza said the death of the blogger had been politicised and called on investigating agencies not to be biased.
She claimed those who she had defeated in the last general election were behind the arrests of people close to her, adding that her hands were clean. On January 6, detectives had raided her official residence in search of evidence.
“The governor’s official residence is under 24 hour police security. There is an occurrence book at the gate where all incidents are recorded. I urge the investigators not to be biased. The police officers who guard the residence should be the first to be questioned,” Ms Mwangaza said.
The governor also accused politicians who paraded Muthiani’s body at Maua stadium last Saturday (January 13) of using the murder for political gain.
This prompted former governor Kiraitu Murungi to speak for the first time since the incident, saying he was “pained” by the governor’s claims.
“When she says those who were defeated were behind the arrests, the governor is referring to either me or Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi who contested the election. This is a scheme to politicise a serious matter such as murder,” Mr Murungi said in an interview with Weru TV.
“We call upon the police to carry out thorough investigations to ensure that justice is served. I retired from politics and I don’t want to be dragged into it. For Kawira, what I would wish to tell her is that she is in the kitchen of politics and she has to endure all the smoke and learn how to deal with it,” Mr Murungi said.
On Monday, a section of Meru members of the county assembly said they would pursue every means to ensure that Muthiani’s family got justice.
Addressing journalists in Imenti North, the MCAs said they would pursue justice for Muthiani’s family despite the “noise” being made by Ms Mwangaza.
They said nobody would stop them from conducting prayers for the family as they push the police to speed up investigations.
“The police have made arrests based on the information they have on who might have been involved in the murder. We will continue to agitate for justice to be done and all those culpable arrested and charged,” said Titus Murithi, Igembe East MCA.
