The late Lilian Achieng.
At around 11.45am on October 31, Lilian Achieng, a journalist working for a local FM station, left her parents' home in Umoja estate for Kahawa West to meet her boyfriend.
Achieng’s mission that day was to terminate her three-year-old relationship with her boyfriend, George Mwenda, collect her personal belongings, and return to her parents’ home.
Achieng, 33, had earlier called Mwenda using her mother’s mobile phone to inform him that she would be coming over.
The two agreed to meet at the man’s house. Back at home, Achieng’ informed her mother that she did not intend to take long at the boyfriend's house.
She had promised to return home before 7pm.
Achieng’ had confided in the parents that her relationship with the man, which began in 2021, had faced serious challenges, and that she had decided to call it quits. She left their Umoja home shortly before noon on October 31.
Change of heart
That is the last time Achieng’ was seen alive by her parents.
Once she got to her boyfriend’s house located on Bima Road in Kahawa West, she appeared to have had a change of heart. She didn’t leave in a huff as expected.
Instead at around 2pm, Achieng’ and Mwenda were spotted at an entertainment joint along the Kahawa West along the Ruiru by-pass.
According to police investigations, Mwenda and Achieng’ were at this joint until 7pm when they returned to the house in Kahawa West.
In the house, police said, the two went on making merry and even went for more drinks from a nearby liquor store.
At around 11.30pm, neighbors say they heard screams from the house.
A next-door neighbor told police that while it was clear that there was a fight, efforts to rescue Achieng’ failed as the door to the house was locked from the inside.
Stab wounds
The following day (November 1) at around 9pm, the area chief, who was called to the house, informed Kahawa West police that there was a body inside.
Crime scene personnel in an initial report on the matter said when the police arrived, they found the woman lying on the ground with blood oozing from her body.
The victim had suffered stab wounds on the right side of her ear and had visible injuries on her hip and face.
The scene appeared to have been interfered with, said the crime scene officers.
Last Friday, detectives from the Nairobi Area Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, together with officers from Kasarani, traced Mwenda to his parents’ rural home in Tharaka Nithi.
Mwenda was brought back to Nairobi and locked up at the Kasarani police station pending investigations into the murder of Achieng’.
Kasarani DCI boss Justus Ochieng’ told the Nation that his investigators had obtained orders of the court to hold Mwenda for another 14 days and complete their investigations.
Ombati said a postmortem examination of the body of Achieng ’revealed that she died of injuries sustained after being hit with a blunt object.
“So far the investigations are progressing well, “ said Ombati.
In his statement, Mwenda told the investigators that Achieng’ became violent in the house and attempted to attack him.
He told the investigators that when Achieng’ became violent he went to bed leaving her in the sitting room.
When he sobered up the following morning, he was shocked to learn that Achieng' was dead and he decided to run to the village.
