Rachael Moraa was just 23 years old when she met her British lover, Mark Fredrick Watson, on social media in 2023.
The two met through an online dating platform, and Moraa believed she had found true and lasting love beyond borders.
What began as friendly chats between the Naivasha woman and the stranger soon blossomed into a romantic relationship filled with promise.
By mid-2024, the 75-year-old UK-based man travelled to Kenya to live with Moraa, a gesture that convinced her and those close to her that the relationship was serious and was headed towards a shared future.
Together, the lovebirds acquired a Sh8.6 million house at Kinamba, on the outskirts of Naivasha town. To Moraa, it was not just a house, but a symbol of commitment and a place she called home. For more than a year, they lived together as a couple.
Mixed race couple looking at houses to buy.
Photo credit: Fotosearch
Family members recall her speaking with optimism, describing a life that finally seemed to be falling into place. Moraa appeared happy, hopeful and deeply invested in the relationship.
However, on December 8, 2025, things took a dramatic turn when she suddenly went missing, while her lover was out of the country in England.
Ten days later, after a desperate search by the family, her body was found at the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary.
Her father says mortuary attendants told the family that Moraa was brought to the facility as an accident victim.
"The mortuary attendants told us that my daughter had been brought into the facility in the wee hours of December 9, 2025. They said they were told she died in a road accident, a hit-and-run," said her father, George Makori Nyagucha.
Records showed she was hit by a vehicle at Kayole area on the busy Naivasha -Nairobi highway, but the family insists their kin was murdered. The mysterious death is now the subject of an inquest before a Naivasha Court.
The inquest heard that although the two lovebirds appeared happy during their time together, the relationship had been rocked with claims of infidelity and marital strife, a few months before the woman was found dead.
Through a virtual court session, Mr Mark Fredrick Watson, who was the first witness to take the stand, told the court how they met through an online dating platform, culminating in a love bliss that was later punctuated by accusations of infidelity and heavy drinking.
Watson told the court that he came into the country and purchased a house at Kinamba area of Naivasha, where the two resided for nearly a year, before he later jetted back into his native country.
“Differences arose after I got information of suspected infidelity. While l was in England, I was told that she brought men to the house while l was away and that he was involved in drinking alcohol. I decided to relocate her from our Kinamba home into a rented apartment, assisted by my lawyer,” Mr Watson said.
During a cross-examination, Mr Watson was hard pressed to explain why she decided to relocate her despite the infidelity allegations.
“I still had a soft spot for her so that was why I decided to look for an alternative dwelling place,” he said in response to questions from the advocates.
Watson said he relied on his Kenyan lawyer to facilitate the relocation process and that he catered for all the expenses.
He, however, told the court that he was shocked to learn of Moraa’s death days later, through his lawyer, after he failed to reach her on the phone.
He said while in England, his lawyer told him that Moraa had been involved in a hit-and-run accident in Naivasha and died.
“I was out of the country when l learnt about her death. She had earlier asked for Sh3,000 from me to buy supper, but l informed her that I had spent a lot of money while relocating her and l didn't have money,” said Mr Watson.
Asked why he did not make it to the burial of Moraa, Watson claimed that he skipped the interment after receiving threatening messages from anonymous sources.
He, however, said that he sent some Sh110,000 to Moraa's family to facilitate the burial.
When he took to the witness stand, Mr George Makori Nyagucha, the father to the deceased, talked of a two-year mental anguish pursuing justice following the death of his daughter in unclear circumstances on December 8, 2025.
According to the father, his daughter was found dead 10 days after she went missing. He told the court that the daughter vanished on December 8, 2025, hours after she left their Kinamba home. The family made a report of a missing person at the Naivasha Police Station on December 11, as they stepped up a search for their kin.
Rachel Moraa went missing on December 8, 2025 before her body was found at the Naivasha Sub County Hospital mortuary on December 17, 2025.
Mr Nyagucha also revealed that prior to her disappearance, his daughter had called to inform him that she had differences with her lover, who had resorted to evict her from the multi-million house.
"She had called me and explained that they had a quarrel and the lover, who was in England at the time, had decided to send a lawyer to evict her from the house. The lawyer claimed that Moraa was just a caretaker of the house. She went missing as she was in the process of relocating to a new house," recalled Mr Nyagucha.
"But when we spoke, she was fine and in good health and she told me she was in the process of relocating," he added.
Hopes of getting their kin alive crashed and gave way to heartbreak when her body was discovered lying cold at the Naivasha Sub County Hospital mortuary on December 17, 2025.
Family members, who had been searching for her since December 8, traced her body to the mortuary, ending days of a frantic search.
Moraa was laid to rest on January 23, 2026, at her parents’ home in Kisii, a month after her body was recovered.
Mr Nyagucha also told the court that he was directly involved in the purchase of the house, bought for at least Sh8.6 million, ostensibly as a gift to his daughter by her British lover.
"More painful is that I learnt that my daughter was missing through the caretaker of the house she was supposed to occupy. Curiously, he got my number through Watson,” he told the court.
"I believe my daughter was killed before the whole incident was made to look like a hit and run accident," her father stated.
"We have been living in agony for months. All we want as a family is justice for Moraa. She was young and had a very bright future. As her father l want to understand who killed my daughter and the motive behind the murder," said Mr Nyagucha.
The court is now seeking to unravel the circumstances that led to Moraa's death, as it remains unclear how she ended up dead in the mortuary. The inquest is seeking to trace and interrogate the persons she was last seen interacting with, as part of the probe into the mysterious death.
The matter will resume on July 7, 2027, where at least 11 witnesses are expected to testify.
An autopsy conducted at the Naivasha Sub County Hospital mortuary by government pathologist Titus Ngulungu, in the presence of a family pathologist, revealed that Moraa died of internal bleeding after being hit by a blunt object.
"As a result of my examination, l have formed the opinion that the cause of death was internal bleeding due to trauma caused by a blunt object. She had broken ribs and her body also had physical injuries on the face, legs and hands," read part of the autopsy report by Dr Ngulungu.
