On February 15, 2026, 24-year-old Samuel Mungai left his village in Murang’a County riding his motorcycle. On the following morning, he was discovered in a ditch, grievously assaulted and left for dead.
He used to be an avocado broker. When the produce was out of season, he worked as a boda boda operator.
His father, Mr Thomas Mungai, told Nation that his family is yet to come to terms with the tragic end for his son, who was planning to get a wife by the end of this year.
“We were in constant talks. On the fateful day, when he left home, we had an afternoon chat before he left at around 1 pm. I had told him he had to settle down by starting a family, and he said he would be a husband by December,” he said.
His last words to him were: “Dad worry not...By December I will be a husband and by August 2027, a father of twins”.
His mother, Ms Margaret Wangari, remembers the last words she heard from her son: “Mum, take care; I will be back by supper time...Tell dad he need not get worried about me starting a family since I’m also as anxious as he is”.
It was not to be, for after father and mother witnessed their son ride out of their Kangùkù village on his motorcycle, the following morning, he was found unconscious in an area about 15 kilometres away from home that is notorious due to murder victims that have been found there before.
According to the police report by Murang’a County police boss Kemboi Kimaiyo, early risers saw Samuel lying unconscious in the Mutoho area along Kenol-Kaharati road.
“The report indicated presence of a barely alive young man who appeared injured on the head, sprawled by the roadside,” the report reads in part.
Murang’a County police boss Kemboi Kimaiyo.
Photo credit: File
This is the same place where, on September 9, 2024, the bodies of Francis Maingi Mwaura (39), Michael Kimando Maina (36) and Kennedy Mwaura Mwangi (27) were found. They had been shot dead in what was believed to be a case of extrajudicial killings.
To date, no suspect has ever been arrested, and no police report has ever shed light on how the three died.
The incident report adds that police officers who responded to the report found Samuel severely injured and took him to Thika Level Five hospital where he was admitted in critical condition. The report indicated that Samuel had three knocks on the head, which had caused bleeding.
At the hospital, a head scan was done and it was decided that the injuries were serious, demanding specialised attention.
“The injuries are serious. They have caused trauma in his brain,” the medical report that referred him to Kenyatta National Hospital reads in part.
Samuel died on February 17 without uttering a word that would have provided a hint as to what happened to him.
According to Murang’a South police boss Charity Karimi, Samuel has so far been profiled as a man who visited at least four different towns within a span of eight hours.
An investigative report still under progress shows that Samuel arrived in Sabasaba town at around 2pm and set off on motorbike rides to Kamahuha, Heho and Maragua towns.
“The towns are those that are captured by his mobile phone signal. He stayed longest in Maragua town where his phone signal remained active from about 4pm to 7pm in a bar,” the report reads.
Shops and grocery stalls along Wanyee road in Maragua town, Murang’a County.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
The mystery is deepened by information in the report that all along, he was in the company of two youths who appeared well known to him.
The two youths have since been traced to be his village mates and who, in yet another investigative twist, are yet to be apprehended to provide insights into the probe.
The post-mortem report shows that Samuel suffered three vicious blows on the head, which caused three tears. One impacted on his skull, causing his brain to swell.
The report adds that he suffered a broken leg and died of excessive bleeding and an infection in his brain.
The mystery deepens further as the investigative report reveals that in Maragua town, Samuel made contact with two suspected criminals who were allies of the three men who had been found shot dead at Mutoho.
Samuel Mungai, who died in a murder plot on February 17, 2026, hours after meeting with police and goons in Murang'a County.
Photo credit: Pool
Further, Samuel is said to have been found in a chat with two police officers in Maragua town’s Mathare Estate that is notorious for gang-related crimes.
“The victim also met with political goons of a Kahumbu ward politician in Sabasaba and Heho towns. It is in Heho town that his phone signal went off,” it adds.
Initial deduction is that the phone signal went off when Samuel was in the company of the political grouping. His motorcycle was found abandoned by the roadside about four kilometres from where his phone signal went off.
Samuel’s brother-in-law Christopher Ngugi, who is leading the search for answers in the death, told Nation that the investigations are cast in a mysterious plot.
“As a family, we don’t understand anything. All we have been told by the investigators is that there are suspected gang members, police officers, friends and political operatives. How our kin ended up dead is the link we have not been provided with,” he said.
He added that the family does not understand in whose hands among the cited groupings that Samuel ended up dead.
“Interestingly, the person who called Samuel’s family to announce that he had been discovered left for dead is known. The person who recovered the abandoned motorbike and drove it to Sabasaba town is also known. But there is no effort being seen to task them to provide actual facts on how they were so conveniently available in both incidents and how they came to be in the know,” Mr Ngugi said.
Mr Kimaiyo said the investigations are ongoing and that once complete, the findings will be made public.
Mr Ngugi said the family does not understand what would make Samuel die, either in the hands of friends, police, political goons or criminals.
“Samuel had no riches. He was a Class Seven dropout who pursued a masonry course in a village polytechnic before he opted for the boda boda sector and avocado brokerage. What is missing is police answers on how he died in what is an apparent murder plot,” he said.
