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How police tracked down suspects in the Nyamira family murder
A court in Nyamira has ordered the detention of four suspects for 15 days, in order to give the police time to finalise their investigation into the brutal murder of a family of four.
A court in Nyamira has ordered the detention of four suspects, who are linked to the brutal killing of four family members in Nyamakoroto village in the Kitutu Masaba constituency, for a further 15 days to allow the completion of the investigation.
Benjamin Mwongela Maeke, Bernard Mutei, Shadrack Kigen and Margret Ongoro were arraigned at the Keroka Law Courts before Chief Magistrate Eunice Nyutu.
The four did not enter a plea.
The investigating officer requested 15 days to finalise his investigation, arguing that parading the suspects before witnesses for possible identification would compromise the case if it proceeded in open court.
Before the suspects were brought to the dock, the officer successfully asked the magistrate to hold the session in camera.
“The investigating officer is seeking some privacy at this stage and therefore, this means all the people in the court will briefly get out. This includes you (the media),” directed CM Nyutu.
According to police sources, detectives from Keroka Police Station tracked Mwongela, believed to be the mastermind behind the killings, to the Laini Saba area of the Kibera slums in Nairobi.
Following his arrest, he allegedly revealed the whereabouts of his accomplices. Mutei was arrested in Kaplong and Kigen in Longisa, both in Bomet County. The fourth suspect, Ongoro, was arrested at Magombo market, just metres from Nyamakoroto village where the killings occurred.
The victims — Lordrick Makini Angwenyi (57), his wife Jack Bochaberi (50), their daughter Mary Makini (23) and granddaughter Bluesteras Makini — were murdered on 22 August 2025.
Police reports indicate that the attackers stormed the family’s house at night, tied them up with electric cables, forced them to drink petrol, and then killed them. They then doused the house in petrol and set it alight, reducing the victims to ashes.
Miraculously, one child managed to escape by slipping through the attackers’ grasp.
Further investigations revealed that Mary had previously been in a relationship with Mwongela, and that the two had lived together briefly before parting ways due to undisclosed differences. Attempts to reconcile them reportedly failed.
Following this, Mary returned to her parents' home in Nyamira County, where she was preparing to start university in September.
The police believe that Mwongela later followed her there, setting the stage for the tragic events that followed.
