Margaret Wambui who died in a mysterious fall from Altura Apartments in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on July 19, 2026.
As Wangari Gathogo prepares to bury her daughter Margaret Wambui in Murang’a County today, she says only God can make her comprehend how she died in Nairobi 10 days ago. She says man has failed to explain to her how her daughter fell to her death.
Officers from Kilimani Police Station were on July 19 called to investigate the death of the 21-year-old Murang’a University student who had been in the company of a man. Margaret’s body lay on the cabbro in the Altura Apartments compound, following a fall from the building’s 22nd floor.
While the building is geographically in Upper Hill, it falls under the Kilimani police jurisdiction.
Just three months earlier, police had arrested Tony Lwal following the death of Consolata Githinji from another apartment building within the same jurisdiction.
Consolata fell from the sixth floor of a building, and landed on a balcony on the third floor. The fall killed her. She had been in a short-stay apartment with Lwal.
Lwal has since been charged with murder, and the case is ongoing. He maintained to police that Consolata had died by suicide, but his claim will be put to the test at trial.
Margaret Wambui who died in a mysterious fall from Altura Apartments in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on July 19, 2026.
The coincidence is hard to ignore. Both were first-year students in the same university, falling off tall buildings while in the company of men after merrymaking that involved alcohol consumption.
And both women met their deaths after falling out of short-stay apartments.
Further questioning
On Sunday evening, police returned to Altura Apartments and took a security guard in for further questioning.
The guard was on duty on July 19 when Margaret died, and told police that he had seen the young woman on the building’s rooftop taking selfies for about 40 minutes.
The guard had also told police that when he returned from a washroom break, she was no longer on the rooftop, and a few minutes later someone from a neighbouring building called to state that there was a body lying in the compound.
Police now want to further question the guard after following leads that indicate that he may be acquainted with the man in whose company Margaret was moments before her death.
A source told investigators that she was in the company of two friends, also women, and the mystery man who is wanted for questioning.
Preliminary investigations by Kilimani Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) indicate that Margaret left her parents’ home in the Kasarani area on the evening of July 18.
“She left home at around 7pm, saying that she was heading to her workplace for her internship. But there is no evidence that she arrived at the place. What is captured of her known activity in the city centre is that she entered Altura Apartments in Upper Hill at around 10pm,” the report notes.
Ms Wangari Gathogo (left) whose daughter Margaret Wambui died after a mysterious fall from Altura Apartments in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on July 19, 2026.
It adds that the receptionist in the building reported seeing her and clearing her to access the building. What is not explained in the report is what floor or who in particular she sought clearance to visit.
So far, the police have questioned five people, among them two security guards on duty when the incident happened. Also questioned are a receptionist and a worker who was among the first people to arrive at the scene where the body was found.
The investigators have also recovered CCTV footage from the building in an effort to establish whether it was a fall or the student was pushed to her death.
Ms Wambui’s body was taken to Nairobi Funeral Home on the same night of her death. A post-mortem examination has since indicated that she died of multiple fractures that included the spinal cord, with the pathologist noting that the injuries were consistent with a fall from a high point.
Handbag
Discovered at the rooftop where she was allegedly last seen was her handbag, which contained her mobile phone, work uniform, purse, identification documents, bank card and voter registration card.
The discovery of her belongings on the rooftop raised an investigative question given that even the phone that she was said to have been using to take photos was still there.
Margaret’s family says that she had not shown any signs of emotional distress before leaving home that evening.
“What I do not know is whether she died of murder, accident or suicide. The way I knew my daughter was that she was under no mental distress that would have led her to commit suicide. But as investigations drag on, I am waiting upon my God to make me understand this tragedy that has befallen me,” Ms Gathogo says.
She recalls receiving a hysterical call from one of Wambui’s friends who told her to try to contact her since it appeared all was not well.
Ms Gathogo says she later received a phone call from someone who identified herself as a police officer, requiring her to show up at a scene in Upper Hill since there was an accident that appeared to be relevant to her.
“I did not even pause to ask myself how she had got my contacts. I called several family members, and we rushed to the said scene and to my shock, my daughter was lying there dead. A wave of emotions swept through me ... starting with disbelief, then anger that paved the way for confusion and later calm, now waiting to be made to understand how it happened,” she says.
Margaret’s uncle, Mr Maina Gathogo, said his niece had been focused on her studies and internship and appeared to be planning for her future like any other young student.
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