It is a vicious murder that has shocked the region.
And police are now pursuing credible leads that powerful cartels in Murang’a’ County’s cut-throat dairy sector are behind the gruesome killing of a woman whose badly mutilated body was discovered on Friday morning.
The trader’s body was found inside her car, which she used to supply yoghurt. Police believe she was murdered elsewhere and her body dumped along the old Makenji-Kabati road off Thika Road. She had a shop in Maragua town.
Kandara Sub-county Police Commander Michael Mwaura said the killing of the woman appeared to have been well-planned.
“We are still processing scene-of-crime specimens. We are relying on possible eyewitnesses, phone logs and fingerprints to crack the case and we will summon as many people related to her line of business and social life as possible to record statements,” he said.
There are reports that the dairy industry in Murang'a County is in the grip of powerful cartels that have demarcated markets into zones, which they “sell” to traders.
“You cannot sell Murang’a County’s branded milk beyond River Chania. Likewise, anyone attempting to bring in milk from other counties without paying protection fees is threatened,” said a source.
The cartels are said to be linked to powerful dairy societies in the region as well as to politically sponsored gangs such as Mungiki, Gwata Ndai and Nja Nenes.
