On March 18, Elizabeth Nina left her home in Likoni, Mombasa County, full of life, heading to celebrate Idd-ul-Fitr at a friend’s house less than a kilometre away.
Her body was discovered four days later, dumped in a partially developed building within the same area.
According to her sister Everlyn Kamene, the 34-year-old, who was five months pregnant, showed no signs of distress when she left home around 1pm after lunch.
When the Daily Nation visited the family home on Wednesday, relatives and friends had gathered in grief, struggling to come to terms with the sudden and brutal loss of a woman they described as jovial and outgoing.
Investigators are now racing against time to identify a man believed to have been among the last people seen with her, as chilling details emerge about her final hours.
Ms Kamene recalls that her sister left home dressed in red trousers and a pink shirt to celebrate Idd with a friend. For two days, the family heard nothing.
“My neighbours later called asking if I had seen the news. They sent me a photo of a body from the chest down, but I could not recognise her because the clothes were different,” she said.
It later emerged that Elizabeth had changed into another outfit after arriving at her friend’s place.
The uncertainty dragged on through the weekend, with repeated calls from concerned acquaintances, until Monday, when Ms Kamene made the painful trip to the mortuary.
“That is when I confirmed it was her,” she said.
Elizabeth Nina, the 36-year-old woman whose body was found dumped in an unfinished building in Likoni, Mombasa County after she went missing.
Photo credit: Courtesy
In the days leading up to her death, the family has learnt that Elizabeth had confided in friends that she had been assaulted, although she did not name her attacker.
On Friday last week, she reportedly told a woman she was with that she was unwell and was going to buy medicine, only to go missing.
“She had no known conflicts with anyone. She leaves behind a four-year-old son,” Ms Kamene said, adding that the family is yet to receive any concrete update from the police despite assurances that investigations are ongoing.
“My prayer is that my sister gets justice. I am also asking for support to transport her body for burial because I am jobless and cannot afford it,” she added, with more uncertainty on how to raise the boy left behind.
A friend, Ms Kishindo Bamama, was among the last people to see Nina alive.
She recalls a brief but unsettling encounter on Friday evening when the deceased showed up at their usual entertainment spot.
“I saw her at the ‘base’ around 7pm. She greeted us, then a young man came and whispered something to her,” she said.
At that point, the two left in different directions, and that was the last time the friend saw Nina alive.
The following day, news began circulating that a body had been found in an unfinished building nearby. Ms Bamama said she did not pay much attention to the news because she believed her friend had returned home safely.
“I was taken aback when I later learnt that it was my friend’s body that was discovered in the incomplete house. We confirmed it was indeed her when we went to the mortuary,” she said.
She described Nina as a social person with many friends, making it difficult to determine whether she had any disputes or romantic entanglements that could have placed her in danger.
“She did not have a boyfriend that I know of. I cannot say if someone was pursuing her. It is just a very sad death,” Ms Bamama said.
The Likoni Sub-County police boss Joseph Mutungi said the incident was reported by a village elder, after which officers visited the scene and found the body lying in a heap of garbage inside an abandoned structure near Losa Joy Academy.
He stated that a physical examination revealed that the body had bruises on the face and swelling on the right ear, suspected to have been caused by a blunt object.
According to Mr Mutungi, the murder is believed to have been committed elsewhere before the body was dumped at the scene. He noted that fingerprints had been taken for forensic analysis to aid investigations.
Nina’s body is being preserved at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary awaiting post mortem.
Likoni Member of Parliament Mishi Mboko has since condemned the killing, terming it part of a disturbing pattern of violence against women in the area. In a statement, Ms Mboko said she was deeply shaken by Nina’s death, noting that no family should endure such a cruel loss.
She said the incident was not isolated, citing other such cases in Likoni, including that of a woman who was brutally murdered and dismembered in the area last year.
“This is a pattern, and it cannot continue. Women in Likoni are now living in fear as families continue to grieve and the systems meant to protect them are failing,” she said.
The legislator called on security agencies to act with urgency, implement resolutions made during Jukwaa la Usalama forums, and ensure faster investigations and accountability.
The body of 11-year-old Glorious Kaiza was found dumped in the Manyani area of Mishomoroni in Mombasa.
Photo credit: Pool
Human rights groups in Mombasa have condemned the recent killings, warning that they reflect a worrying rise in gender-based violence targeting women and girls in the county.
They noted with concern that there were indications that both victims were sexually assaulted before being killed, describing the acts as brutal and inhumane, and calling for urgent, thorough investigations to ensure justice is served.
The groups further urged the government to treat gender-based violence as a national disaster, saying the situation has become intolerable. They faulted the lack of arrests, warning that it was encouraging impunity among perpetrators.
They also criticised what they termed inaction by leaders, calling for concrete measures to protect women and girls. The activists raised concerns over systemic failures in the justice system, including lapses that allow suspects to evade accountability.
