When Naivasha-based businessman Joseph Mwangi received a phone call on the morning of July 15, his family assumed it was another routine business inquiry.
Like many transport operators, the 58-year-old had built his life around responding to customers whenever duty called and for the past three years, he had earned a living transporting goods and supplying construction materials across the region.
The caller requested a meeting, to which Mbugua agreed, and left home without revealing the caller's identity but assured his family he would return shortly after.
Naivasha-based businessman Joseph Mwangi. His mutilated body was discovered on Sunday in a bush in the Ereri area of Longonot.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
Instead, the call lured the father of five into what investigators believe was a carefully planned trap that ended in his disappearance, days of frantic searches, ransom demands and the eventual discovery of his mutilated body.
Naivasha Sub-County Police Commander Wilson Sigei confirmed the incident, saying detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are investigating the case.
“The matter was initially reported as a missing person case before it turned into a murder investigation after his body was discovered in a quarry within Longonot. We are awaiting a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death, which will guide our investigations,” Mr Sigei said.
For four agonising days, Mwangi’s family searched forests, caves, hospitals and police stations hoping the man they describe as peaceful, humble and hardworking would be found alive.
His nephew, Joseph Mbugua Njenga, recalled the family's final conversations with him.
He said Mbugua left home at about noon after receiving the phone call. Instead of driving his vehicle, he boarded a matatu to Hilltop in Longonot.
Later, his wife, Teresia Mwangi, called to ask whether he had met the caller.
“He told her he had arrived at the meeting point but was still waiting for the person,” Mr Njenga said.
Mrs Mwangi continued calling because his husband was supposed to pick up their grandchild from school. After several unanswered calls, she decided to collect the child herself.
A portrait of Naivasha businessman Joseph
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
On her way, she passed through Hilltop hoping to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen, and she immediately alerted their son.
“At around 4pm, his Safaricom line went off. Our son then called his Airtel number, but someone else answered, claiming my uncle was drunk and had failed to pay for alcohol," Mr Njenga said.
“The caller demanded my uncle's identity card number and Sh500,000 before he could be released. His son insisted on speaking to him, but they claimed he was too drunk to talk before disconnecting the call,” he said.
Realising something was terribly wrong, the family reported the matter at Longonot Police Station before recording statements with detectives at the DCI offices in Naivasha.
As the search intensified, the family learnt that someone had seen Mwangi shortly after he alighted from the matatu. The witness attempted to greet him but said he appeared to be in a hurry, crossed the road and continued walking.
On July 16, relatives split into groups to retrace his last known movements. While one team visited police stations, another combed the route from the matatu stage.
Residents later told the family they had seen Mwangi walking with another man whose face was concealed. They identified him by the distinctive leather jacket he had been wearing.
The search expanded into nearby farms, caves and rocky terrain.
It later emerged that the caller had changed the meeting venue from Hilltop to a quarry about two kilometres away.
"Police told us his last phone signal was detected near the Naivasha matatu terminus before the phone went off at around 4.30pm," Mr Njenga said.
The family's anguish deepened when they received another call from a man claiming to be the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Port Victoria Police Station in Busia County.
The caller claimed Mwangi was alive but injured and had been taken to hospital. He demanded Sh10,000 to facilitate his transport back to Nakuru.
The family insisted on speaking to Mwangi first, and they soon became suspicious after receiving conflicting information. One caller claimed he was at a police station while another said he had been admitted to hospital after being assaulted.
The family reported the calls to the DCI, which traced the numbers to different locations in Ruiru, shattering their hopes that Mwangi was still alive.
On July 18, relatives, friends and neighbours returned to the area and divided themselves into three groups to search the caves and surrounding farms.
One group was drawn by a foul smell coming from a cave. As they searched, they noticed what appeared to be a shallow grave and nearby lay Mwangi’s leather jacket.
“When they found the jacket, they immediately called me because I had contacts at the DCI. The moment I saw it, my heart sank. I knew it belonged to my uncle," Mr Njenga said.
Detectives arrived at the scene, documented the area, collected forensic evidence and moved the body to Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary, where it awaits a post-mortem examination.
According to the family, Mwangi’s body bore signs of torture, including a stab wound to the neck, while his hands appeared to have been doused with a corrosive substance.
His relatives say he never mentioned receiving threats or fearing for his life before his disappearance.
They are now calling on detectives to conduct a thorough investigation to identify everyone involved in what they believe was a meticulously planned crime and establish whether the ransom demands were part of the murder plot.
“He was a peaceful and humble man whose life revolved around work and family. We just want justice because what happened to him was inhumane. Unless those responsible are brought to justice, our family will never find peace,” Mr Njenga said.
