The lifeless body of 30-year-old Jane Wanjiru, a well-known M-Pesa operator in Naivasha town, was discovered on Monday on October 6, 2025, near the Delamere Farm, just off the busy Nakuru–Nairobi Highway.
This comes five months after the murder of another M-Pesa agent in Nakuru town, when another family has been thrown into mourning. According to police reports, initial investigations indicate that the woman was raped, murdered, and later dumped at the scene, suggesting that she was killed elsewhere before being ferried to the spot.
The body was discovered in the morning when by-passers who were heading to work noticed something lying by the roadside. Getting closer, they realised it was a woman’s body.
The police were immediately alerted, and officers from Naivasha Police Station arrived at the scene. They cordoned off the area as detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) began combing through the scene for evidence.
Naivasha sub-County police commander Antony Keter said preliminary investigations have revealed that before the deceased’s body was found dumped, she was in the company of her friends in one of the entertainment joints in Gilgil sub-County.
He said that Wanjiru, who hails from Nyandarua County, was with friends whom detectives are gathering information to reveal their identity and help in the ongoing investigation.
Ms Jane Wanjiru, 30, whose lifeless body was found dumped near Delamere Farm in Naivasha sub-County off the busy Nakuru–Nairobi Highway after a night out with friends.
Photo credit: Pool
The sub-county police boss said that Wanjiru’s husband, a Kenya Defence Forces officer, was called and identified the body as that of his wife.
“The body had no bruises; maybe she was poisoned. We are yet to conduct a postmortem, which will reveal the cause of death, which is crucial information in the investigation. The matter is being handled by the DCI detectives,” he said.
Friends have described Wanjiru as a humble, industrious, and cheerful woman who had operated an M-Pesa kiosk in Naivasha for years.
A friend who spoke on condition of anonymity said that on Sunday, Wanjiru, a mother of one, left her house and visited a salon within Naivasha town to plait her hair.
However, while at the salon, even before the hairstylist could finish plaiting, she started receiving numerous calls from a certain number, who was pressing her for a meet-up.
After the calls became unbearable, Wanjiru is said to have requested the woman to allow her to leave, promising that she would return on Monday.
"After the salon, she went to see the person. That was the last time she was seen alive. She never came back to plait her hair. Her body was found days later, dumped beside the road along the highway. We plead with the police to conduct a speedy investigation,” she said.
In a phone interview, Naivasha GBV cluster group chairperson, John Kinuthia, lamented that cases of femicide are on the rise, noting that at least four women have been killed in the past five months under unclear circumstances.
“We are worried by the rising cases of murder targeting women; nearly all cases, the victims were in their mid-30s. We are pleading with detectives to conduct an investigation and arrest the perpetrators,” he said
