A post-mortem examination of Jane Wanjiru's remains, the Naivasha Mpesa operator whose body was found dumped near Delamere Farm on the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway last week, has revealed that she was strangled to death.
The autopsy, which took place on Saturday, October 11, at the Naivasha Sub-county Hospital Mortuary, indicated that Wanjiru, 31, was raped and later strangled by her killer(s).
“After an examination, the pathologist has formed the opinion that the cause of death was strangulation. There were also signs that she was raped before being strangled. The body had strangulation marks on the neck,” revealed Naivasha Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Isaac Kiama.
The post-mortem was conducted in the presence of Ms Wanjiru’s family, DCI investigators, and friends.
Ms Jane Wanjiru, 30, was found dead near Delamere Farm in Naivasha sub-county, off the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway, after a night out with friends.
Photo credit: Pool | Nation
Ms Wanjiru, who was from Kinangop in Nyandarua County, was married to a Kenya Defence Forces officer based in Gilgil in Nakuru County.
Her body was found dumped last Monday near Delamere Farm, five kilometres from Naivasha Town.
Preliminary investigations indicate that she may have been killed elsewhere before her body was dumped at the scene.
Detectives from the DCI are now piecing together information that will help them solve the bizarre murder of the trader who ran an Mpesa shop in Naivasha.
"We are following crucial leads as we trace her last movements. We will not rest until we ensure that the killers are apprehended and arraigned in court," said Mr Kiama, who is leading the probe.
The Nation has established that investigators are seeking the victim's mobile phone call logs to determine who she interacted with before her death.
They also want to know who she met and who she spoke to in the hours before her body was found dumped on the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway.
"We are sure the call logs will offer some insight into her last moments," revealed a DCI officer, also involved in the probe.
Ms Jane Wanjiru, 30, was found dead near Delamere Farm in Naivasha sub-county, off the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway, after a night out with friends.
Photo credit: Pool | Nation
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Ms Wanjiru was in the company of some friends at a popular entertainment joint in Gilgil Town, hours before she was found dead.
Earlier, on Sunday, October 5, Ms Wanjiru left her house and visited a salon within Naivasha Town to plait her hair, and, according to friends, she received numerous calls from her other friends, who wanted to meet her. It is then that she left for Gilgil Town.
"Wanjiru was industrious and always jovial. We want justice for her family. This is a young soul lost. We want thorough investigations done. It will bring justice for Wanjiru and stop other perpetrators from committing such acts," said Mary Maina, a friend.
Ms Wanjiru's killing is one of the more than five femicide incidents that have been reported in the past six months.
In an interview, the chairperson of the Naivasha Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cluster group, Mr John Kinuthia, lamented that cases of femicide were on the rise in the lakeside town. He revealed that at least five women had been killed in unclear circumstances in the past six months.
"We are concerned about the increasing number of murders targeting women. In almost all cases, the victims were in their mid-30s. We are pleading with detectives to conduct thorough investigations and arrest the perpetrators,” he said.
Meanwhile, local leaders, led by the area's Member of Parliament, Jayne Kihara, have condemned the killing and urged the police to speed up their investigation into the murder.
“I urge the security agents to conduct thorough investigations and bring to book those behind the bizarre murder of the youthful businesswoman,” said Kihara.
The lawmaker called on Ms Wanjiru's family to stay calm as police carry out investigations into the murder that has left residents of Naivasha in fear and shock.
