"My wife and I are suffering in prison over a land dispute. We had nothing to do with the chief’s murder," these are the words of John Nthiga Kirema, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for the murder of his area chief, Japhet Majau.
He is incarcerated alongside his wife Leah Muthoni, and seven others — Gerald Njeru M’ibua, Julius Mburu, John Nthiga, Sisiria Katora, Julius Kimenye, Jornard Njagi, Gediel Munyua and Tom Kinyua. The group was accused of killing the Kamaindi location chief on April 30, 2019.
Nthiga was a human resources officer at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters in Nairobi until his arrest and subsequent link to the murder. He had worked for the teachers’ employer for 32 years.
Now imprisoned at Embu Main Prison, he speaks to the Daily Nation for the first time since his conviction.
Inside 21 hours of murders and questionable evidence that convicted nine people
“As a civil servant nearing retirement, I was always cautious and did everything according to the law, as expected of any public officer,” he says. But fate had other plans — plans to shatter his life and prematurely end his over 30-year career.
During his employment, he lived in Nairobi with part of his family. He recalls not travelling home that particular weekend, choosing instead to remain in the city. Come Monday, he left for work at around 6am.
“I clocked in using the biometric system at 7:40am, went up to the third floor, and worked the entire day. I left for lunch nearby and came back. At 4.59 pm, I clocked out and headed to town, arriving there at about 6pm after a 30- to 40-minute walk,” he says.
John Nthiga Kirema is serving a 30-year jail term for the murder of Kamaindi location chief Japhet Majau.
Photo credit: Courtesy of NTV
He stayed in town for about an hour and left a few minutes past 7pm for Dandora Phase Five, where he lived. He then passed by a local joint before heading home around 9pm.
At midnight, he received a call from his wife, who was in the village, telling him that police officers were at her house demanding entry.
“I told her to be cautious before opening the door. But before we could end the conversation, the police forced their way in and took her phone. The line went dead. She later called me around 2am, saying she’d been arrested together with my uncle and his wife and taken to Chuka Police Station for the murder of the area chief,” he recounts.
Nthiga was stunned that his wife had been implicated in such a grave offence, especially since they had been in contact throughout the day as she took their daughter to school.
Leah Muthoni, the wife of John Nthiga Kirema.
Photo credit: Courtesy of NTV
At the station, his wife reportedly told police that her husband had not been home that weekend, but officers insisted on finding him.
“The next day, May 1, I sent our daughter to check on her mother as I went to the office to apply for leave. Unfortunately, my daughter told me later that she couldn't see her,” he recalls.
On the second day, while processing the leave, Nthiga received a call from a security officer asking him to report to their office, saying there were people who wanted to see him.
He maintains that he was unfairly charged and convicted despite evidence showing he was nowhere near the crime scene.
“I was charged with crimes I knew nothing about. I told the DCI the same thing when they visited me at Kathwana Prisons. I told them that their investigation was flawed. The DCI failed to conduct a thorough probe,” he says.
His phone was seized for three months but was later returned without any forensic evidence linking him to the crime.
“I had no clue what had happened. During the trial, my daughter testified that I was in Nairobi with her on the day the murder occurred,” he says.
Even the deputy director in charge of security at TSC, under whose department biometrics fall, testified in court, confirming that Nthiga was at work on the material day.
“He presented biometric printouts and a letter from the office confirming I reported to work at 7:40am and clocked out at 4:59pm. So the question is, could I have travelled from Nairobi to Kamaindi—a journey that takes over four hours—and committed the murder between 6 pm and 6:30 pm? Would I have returned to Nairobi by 9 pm? Unless I flew, how was that physically possible? Was there any evidence I travelled to the village and back?” he questioned.
According to Nthiga, the investigating officer had no convincing explanation when asked why he was charged.
He believes the case stems from a long-standing land dispute with the deceased’s family. He says he had reported the matter to both the police and the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) in Chuka, who had sent an officer from a neighbouring county to help resolve the dispute.
“My view is that all this is about land. Even now, they’ve encroached on my property and built a permanent house. I wrote to the DCC and the late chief’s brother, explaining that my incarceration allowed them to illegally occupy my land, destroy vegetation, and cultivate freely,” he says.
Brutal murder of Kamaindi chief
“I was not there. I am suffering in prison because of that land. My wife is also suffering just for being associated with me. They’re taking advantage of our absence. I had not seen the chief for three years—what motive would I have to murder him? This is pure hatred stemming from the land dispute. Those who claimed to have seen me are lying so they could grab my land,” he adds.
Longinus Dibobo Oduya, a security officer at TSC, testified that Nthiga logged into work at 7:40am and signed out at 4:59pm on the day in question.
Dickson Gitonga, a Nairobi-based bar and restaurant operator, told the court that he spent the evening with Nthiga and others at his Dandora establishment, Headquarters Retreat, corroborating the alibi.
Nthiga’s daughter, Sonia Kirema, also testified that she was with her father in their Nairobi home when her mother called to report the police operation targeting suspects in the chief’s murder back in Chuka.
Google Maps indicates the journey from Nairobi to Chuka takes approximately 3 hours and 32 minutes, with an additional 55 minutes required to reach Kamaindi location from Chuka.
As for Njagi, his arrest and imprisonment also came as a shock. He says he was away on a casual job in Embu on the day of the murder and did not learn about the incident until that night.
“I returned home around 8 pm. While at a local hotel, I overheard the chief’s brother expressing concern that the chief might be dead. That’s when I first learned something was wrong,” he says.
Later that night, a DCI officer called and informed him he had been mentioned by the chief’s family. Despite protesting his innocence, he was asked to record a statement.
“That was the last time I saw freedom. I was locked up, remanded, tried, and eventually sentenced to 30 years. And here I am,” he says.
He claims that the chief’s family had blocked part of River Thuci, which locals relied on for water. His brother protested and was allegedly killed—an incident for which he suspects members of the chief’s family were responsible.
“They want me out of the way. Not only have they taken my land, but they also fear I may pursue justice for my brother’s death. They think that if I’m free, their children may face arrest,” he says.
In court, Njagi maintained that he was nowhere near Kamaindi on the day of the murder. His wife had left him with the children, and he was working to provide for his family.
However, the court dismissed both men's defences, ruling that they were not credible.
What began as a seemingly harmless act—of goats straying into a family compound—spiralled into one of the bloodiest tragedies that shattered the silence of Kamaindi village in Tharaka Nithi.
On the material day, the animals belonging to Mburu wandered into the farm of Josephat Mukengu and were grazing on his crops. The act of animals wandering into the neighbourhood is a common occurrence in rural areas.
Josephat Mukengu the brother of the late chief Japhet Majau.
Photo credit: Courtesy of NTV
This one was no different, as it was an ordinary rural dispute in an otherwise quiet village — until tempers flared. Within hours, Kamaindi chief Japhet Majau lay dead, his body torched in a brutal spectacle that stunned the nation.
Within two days, what started as a dispute over straying livestock had triggered a series of calculated killings, exposing bitter feuds related to land and access to River Thuci, a major source of water in the semi-arid community in Chuka, Igambang’ombe Sub-county.
The brief of the case as presented before the High Court in Chuka is that when goats wandered into his farm, Mukengu drove them to his homestead and called Ms Veronica Kanini Mutugi, the assistant chief at the time, to whom he reported the matter.
Julius Mburu Kinanga is serving a 30-year jail term for the murder of Kamaindi location chief Japhet Majau.
Photo credit: Courtesy of NTV
Ms Mutugi, in turn, told Mukengu to call the area chief and report the matter to him. The chief, Majau, informed Mukengu to make arrangements with his wife, who was also the area manager, and return the goats to the owner.
Mukengu did as instructed. But as she was returning the goats, she saw a group armed with pangas, sticks, arrows and other weapons heading to her husband’s home, baying for his blood. Luckily, he had locked himself inside the house.
It was at that very time that the chief arrived at Mukengu’s home and started negotiating with the group. All of a sudden, Mburu and Kimenye started asking the rest what they were waiting for.
“All the accused attacked the deceased with the crude weapons without any warning or provocation. Njagi picked a stone and hit the deceased on the forehead,” Mukengu told the court.
The deceased panicked and asked Njagi whether it was a fight, but his accomplices started cutting him (the deceased) using pangas and hitting him with sticks.
“The deceased was overcome and collapsed as the accused continued attacking him. The accused then poured petrol on the deceased—which they had carried in a jerrycan—and set the body ablaze,” said the witness.
Court records show Kinyua was the one who removed a matchbox from his pocket and, after dousing the deceased with petrol, set him ablaze while he was still alive.
At the end of the trial, Justice Lucy Gitari convicted all nine suspects, declaring they had a common intention and were conjoined in the crime after taking evidence from nine witnesses.
“In the end, it is my view that all the nine accused persons had malice aforethought of committing an offence, and with a common intention of causing the death of Mukengu—or doing grievous harm to him—which sadly resulted in the death of Majau, who happened to come to the scene at the nick of time,” said the judge in the decision dated February 1, 2024.
And with this, all nine accused persons were jailed for 30 years each.
