Friends till death: Tragic end for Narok mothers out on a business deal

It was the last time their families saw them alive.

Less than 48 hours later, on Monday, their bodies were found on the side of the Maai Mahiu-Narok highway, with no identification documents. 

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Were they the victims of a deal gone wrong? Who wanted them dead, and why? These are the questions investigators in Narok and Nakuru counties are grappling with as they try to unravel the circumstances surrounding the murders of two businesswomen.

According to a police situational report, the Registrar of Persons on July 10, 2023, identified the two dead women as Esther Nolari Malott, 49, and Napanoi Ene Ntidai, aged 51.

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The report indicated that both were from Ololunga, Narok County.

According to Naivasha sub-county police commander Benjamin Boen, their relatives visited the Naivasha mortuary on Monday, July 10 and positively identified the bodies.

"They recorded their statements and stated that the two were grain traders and were last seen in Narok town on Saturday, July 8, 2023. The motive that led to their murder is yet to be established. The bodies are still at Naivasha level four hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem examination," Mr Boen added.

Investigators in the case told Nation.Africa that they were in the early stages of investigations, but added that they would rely on the post-mortem reports to determine the cause of the deaths.

"We have started investigations but we want to establish how they were killed because it is obvious that they were killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in Naivasha," the investigating officer said. 

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The officer said the scene was "undisturbed" and therefore not a "primary scene but a secondary scene".

More than 50km from Maai Mahiu town, where their bodies were found, their two families in Ntulele, Narok East sub-county, are crying out for justice.

They believe their relatives were killed in cold blood after being lured into a bean deal that never was.

Murmuring in low tones

When Nation.Africa visited the two families’ homes barely a kilometre apart, we found villagers milling around, murmuring in low tones about the gruesome murders.

Neighbours describe the women as hardworking breadwinners for their families whose lives had been cut short by criminals.

At Nolari's home, we found villagers clearing a path to her four-room permanent house, to allow access to the compound ahead of her burial.

Grief gripped the two families, with concerns raised about the fate of the women’s dependants.

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Nolari was a widow, who is now survived by her three daughters who are students in local colleges — Mitchell Kedoki, 23, is a second-year student at Egerton University studying education, and her 19-year-old twin sisters, Anabel and Nehema Kedoki. Anabel is taking a medical course at the Kenya Medical Training College in Kapkatet, while Nehema will be joining the University of Nairobi soon.

Nolari and her friend spent Friday night at home and attended the pastor's graduation ceremony together the next day, said Mitchell.

"They slept at our house, bathed in the morning, dressed in their best Maasai outfits and together, we accompanied them to Narok town for our pastor's ceremony," Mitchell recalled tearfully.

At the event, her mother texted her to say that she was under pressure from one of her brokers to take a consignment from Naisoya.

"She was in a good mood. She sent us Sh300 each for lunch and we said goodbye at about 12pm," said Mitchell.

At 4pm, Mitchell called her mother to ask what they should prepare for dinner.

Mitchell said she picked the call, but suspiciously told her she had no money in her M-Pesa before unusually hanging up.

"The way she ended the call was suspicious, I felt there was something wrong with her, she is not the kind of person to end a call before the conversation is over, I even told my sister that our mother sounded disturbed on the call," the daughter revealed.

Mitchell called her again at around 5.45pm, but this time her calls went unanswered.

"At about 7:30 pm, her phone went off, so I called her friend, Ms Ntidai, whose phone was also off, and I was worried because I knew something was wrong," she added.

Network problem

But she assumed it was a network problem because her mother sometimes travelled to the interior villages in search of maize and beans, where the network is sometimes problematic.

However, the next morning, the family began a search that ended with unfortunate news after one of their relatives travelled to Naivasha and identified the bodies of two women on Monday.

Across the road at Ntidai's home, the situation was similar with family, friends and relatives calling for justice.

Mr Benson Ntidai, the third-born, also recalled speaking to his mother around 2pm on Saturday, but her phone was off three hours later.

"We spoke to her on Saturday at 2pm and she told me that they were going to collect some beans, I called her five times around 5pm but I could not reach her, and I thought it was a network problem," said Mr Ntidai.

It was only when her phone went 'silent' the next day that the family became suspicious, prompting them to alert the villagers.

"We searched all Sunday and on Monday we reported them missing at Ntulele police station," said Mr Ntidai.

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But he was devastated to learn that the two bodies found in Naivasha belonged to his mother and her friend.

Members of the two families are now calling on security agencies to work round the clock to apprehend those behind the heinous act.

"My mother was our only breadwinner after our father died. We have lost our world and what we want now is justice," said Mitchell.

Sh80,000 in cash

She revealed that her mother had Sh80,000 in cash with her at the time of her disappearance, which she intended to use to buy beans.

Mr Harrison Kedoki, a relative of Nolari who went to Naivasha Level Four Hospital mortuary, said he positively identified the two women.

"I only saw the bodies once, and I recognised them: they were covered in blood. One of them had a belt around her neck, indicating that she had been strangled before being stabbed," said Mr Kedoki.

Ms Jane Manangoi, one of the businesswomen who worked with the victims, is now worried about her safety.

"We are now living in fear of our lives. How can we trust those who call us to buy goods from them? Today we have lost our two valuable, hardworking women. Who knows what will happen next?" wondered Ms Manangoi.

Neighbours, however, have put the local police on the spot, questioning how the bodies could have passed through all the roadblocks without being noticed.

Mr John Malit, a resident, said the police should explain how the bodies passed about 10 roadblocks to get to where they were found.

"Whenever we (locals) try to transport sheep and goats in our cars, the police search us, and now we have a roadblock at Narok town and Ntulele, how could they not notice the two bodies being moved?" asked Mr Malit.

However, local police have promised to liaise with their counterparts in Naivasha to solve the mystery surrounding the murders.

The area police commander, Mr Jared Marando, told the Nation that the two families filed a missing person’s report on Monday, prompting them to send a signal to all police stations.

Mr Marando said they were following up on leads from the two women's last communications before their disappearance and said the motive for the incident could be related to theft of money.

"We believe that the two deceased women were carrying money that could have attracted some criminals," Mr Marando said.

However, the police boss said they were also investigating how the two ended up in the neighbouring Nakuru County.

"We are trying to unravel the mystery as to whether the two were murdered elsewhere and their bodies dumped in Naivasha or whether they were abducted, and killed at the scene where they were found," said Mr Marando.

He has, however, appealed to the public with any valuable information on the case to volunteer information to the authorities in their vicinity.