Husband arrested as wife's dismembered body found in Nandi
A portrait of Rachel Biwott, a resident of Kiplombe, Uasin Gishu County, who went missing on June 22 after leaving work.
On June 24, residents of Kapsilegaa village in Mutwot, Nandi County, made a horrifying discovery.
An abandoned white granny bag sack was found beside the roadside attracting the attention of curious villagers and police officers.
Upon opening the sack, they were met with a gruesome sight: the decomposing, dismembered body of a woman, whose identity was unclear, as her head and legs were missing.
Police officers transferred the body to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary for preservation and later that day, another set of body parts—head and upper limbs—were discovered in a clear polythene bag beside a road at Lamaiywet village within Uasin Gishu County.
Two days later, preliminary investigations identified the victim as Rachel Biwott, 44, an accountant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
The resident of Kiplombe had gone missing after leaving work on Saturday, June 22. Her colleagues grew concerned when she did not turn up for work raising suspicions about her whereabouts.
On June 27, Ms Biwott’s friend identified as Miriam Rotich posted on her Facebook page that the deceased left work at the MTRH on Saturday happy as always.
Ms Rotich recounted that they had bid each other farewell with a promise to meet the next morning. However, Ms Biwott did not report to work on Sunday.
Initially, everyone thought she was attending to personal matters, but when she did not show up on Monday, her colleagues became worried and tried calling her.
Her phone went off around midday, causing panic among her co-workers, who later learned that a body had been discovered.
“This is Rachel Cherop Biwott of Kiplombe and an accountant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. I have known her for eight years, a jovial, quiet, charismatic mother. I refer to her as " Chebo Kibande" and she would reciprocate by saying "Chebo Kapcheptum". She has never crossed paths with anyone in the office. She's diligent in her work, punctual and responsible,” she posted
“How do we mourn this, whoever killed her, why chop her body like a chicken, why take away other parts? Why did Rachel deserve this? Is it wrong to work hard? Is it wrong to be successful? Is it wrong to be a woman? Is it wrong to go out and hustle hard? Why?? I'm scared because we don't know who's next. She had a future. She had plans. Her boys needed her the most. The hospital fraternity needed her.”
According to Uasin Gishu County Criminal Investigating Officer, Daniel Muleli, the deceased’s husband, Francis Mwangi Ndiragu, was arrested on July 5, as the prime suspect.
He was taken to court on Monday, July 8, and on July 11, investigators were granted 10 days for further investigations.
"The prime suspect is in our custody; he has not been charged yet. He is helping detectives with the investigation. This is a sensitive matter which has caused public uproar and needs a thorough investigation," Mr Muleli told Nation.Africa.
His murder has caused a public outcry prompting Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Homicide detectives to take over the investigation into the gruesome death of the mother of four.
Preliminary investigations revealed inconsistencies in the husband’s statements.
Despite Mr Ndirangu's claim to the police that Ms Biwott went missing after having breakfast on June 23, CCTV footage confirmed that she left her workplace with her husband in a hired Toyota Succeed on June 22, contradicting his account of them boarding a matatu. She never made it home.
The deceased’s kids and a co-accused’s statement also contradicted the suspect’s version.
According to the DCI, she was reported missing by her husband a day after she left her workplace where she was working as a Senior Accountant Assistant at the billing section.
Preliminary investigations established that the deceased left her workplace minutes to 7pm in the company of her husband on June 22.
It was after the discovery that the husband filed a missing person report at Eldoret Police Station at 6.40pm, three days later on June 27.
The autopsy report indicated that Ms Biwott had suffered severe neck injuries and blunt-force trauma to the head.
Following the inconsistencies in the husband’s statements and overwhelming circumstantial evidence implicating him, he was arrested alongside a suspected accomplice.
The case will be mentioned at the Eldoret court on July 22.
