A policeman, a Member of Nyamira County Assembly, a National Youth Service (NYS) officer and a nurse are among key people being investigated over the brutal murder of a Nyamira teacher, multiple police sources have revealed.
The mutilated body of Mr Ezekiel Nkeere Gitangwa, a head teacher at Getengereirie Primary School in Nyamira County was found in a house belonging to the nurse on Sunday.
Police officers are still searching for the nurse, whom they are treating as the prime suspect. On Monday, they asked her to surrender to the nearest police station.
Sources indicate that the three men, who are now persons of interest in the investigation, have been frequent visitors to the home of the nurse.
In the case of the NYS officer who is said to be a boyfriend to the nurse, neighbours say he was seen in the compound, a day before the incident.
The NYS officer reportedly visited on December 29, walked with the nurse to her home and stayed there throughout the day.
On December 30, 2022, the same day the teacher went missing, neighbours heard some commotion from the compound, alleges the late’s brother James Maganda.
“When we asked neighbours there, they said that there was somebody who was beaten in that house. He was saying: ‘you my brothers, why do you want to kill me? Why do you call me to come and kill me? I was going to church. Why do you call me to kill me?’,” said Mr Maganda.
“It was cut into pieces,” said Mr Maganda.
Mr John Ondari, a neighbour, told reporters, “People heard the voice of a man pleading for mercy: ‘Please help me, kindly forgive me, we are one people, we can talk over this’.
When neighbours went to the compound to enquire about what was happening, she put on very loud music. Shortly thereafter, the compound went silent.”
On the day he went missing, Mr Nkeere was to be a master of ceremony (MC) at a wedding but was called by the nurse.
"On 30th, the day he met his death, he was supposed to be in church to MCee a wedding. I had personally talked to him in the morning, but later on when I went to the church, I did not see him. In our family we talk with each other a lot and it worried us that he could not be seen," said Mr Maganda.
He said after the wedding, he went to the police and reported his missing brother, saying it was unusual.
Mr Nkeere's family is demanding justice and want the suspects who are at large arrested and be put to book.
Detectives are pursuing a love triangle and money as the motive behind the murder. But that will be clear once the suspects are apprehended.
However, preliminary investigations indicate that thousands of shillings were withdrawn from his phone.
Sources indicate that Mr Nkeere may have been in a romantic relationship with the nurse who works at Nyamaiya Health Centre.
The teacher may have been lured to his death, police have said.
Nyamira South Sub County Criminal Investigations Officer Paul Makonge on Monday said they were trying to establish whether Mr Nkeere walked into a trap and who else could have been involved in his murder.
“We wanted to confirm whether the teacher voluntarily took himself there, we established that he called a boda boda rider who took him there,” said Mr Makonge.
The DCI officer said the teacher had hired the boda boda rider to take him to Egesieri village in West Mugirango constituency, Nyamira County. He was dropped there, but later went to the nurse’s house.
Mr Nkeere, 47, seemed to have a premonition of his own death, his last Tiktok videos indicate.
He appeared to like country music and was a fan of Don Williams. In several Tiktok posts, he lip-synced to the song, Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good by Don Williams and Some Broken Hearts Never Mend by the same artiste.
In another, he sang along to a popular love ballad, I Just Called To Say I Love You , a new year’s tune by Stevie Wonder.
Mr Nkeere went missing on December 30, 2022, before his body was found hidden in a room used for poultry keeping. The body was covered with a carpet.
Police had to break into the house of the Nyamaiya Health Centre-based nurse to access the body. The health worker was not in the house.
"We received a report from the teacher's wife Gladys Bonareri Achoki that her husband was missing," read a police report.
Police explained that when a report of a missing person was done, they started investigations after the elapse of 24 hours.
“We tried to locate where he could have been last seen because his phone was switched off. We established that his last location was in a building in Kisii town before his phone was switched off,” said Mr Makonge.
He added, “We have secured the house for investigation and we are calling on members of the public to be patient as we continue with the probe into the murder of the teacher.”
