A file photo of the late Joseph Njenga Njuguna, 68, who was found murdered at his home in Kimase area, Chepchoina in Trans Nzoia County.
The engagement ceremony had brought relatives together at the home of farmer Joseph Njenga in Endebess in Trans Nzoia County, last Saturday, with visitors travelling from different parts of the region to witness the family occasion.
After the ceremony, Mr Njenga, 68, drove some of the visitors to Kitale before returning to his home at Kiptugut Farm in Kimase village around 9pm.
According to his brother, John Kuria, he later held a brief meeting with his watchman before retiring to bed. By Sunday morning, however, the farmer was dead.
His body was discovered inside his house with deep cuts to the head, setting off a murder investigation that has left detectives trying to establish how the attackers entered the compound and what happened to his wife Mary Ng’ethe.
Mr Njenga's wife was reportedly abducted from the home and later found unconscious several kilometres away at the Kitale-Webuye roundabout, about 2km from Kitale town.
A motorist is said to have rescued her and taken her to a medical facility in Kitale.
On Monday, detectives were still trying to piece together what happened between her disappearance from the farm and her discovery unconscious in Kitale.
There were no obvious signs of forced entry into the house, with an unknown amount of money reportedly stolen.
“We are shocked by my brother's killing. There is no evidence of forceful entry to the home and the watchman says he is not aware how the assailants entered the house and killed his boss,” Mr Kuria told journalists.
He said relatives had travelled to the farm for the engagement ceremony before the family members departed for their respective homes.
A file photo of the late Joseph Njenga Njuguna, 68, who was found murdered at his home in Kimase area, Chepchoina in Trans Nzoia County.
“My late brother dropped off some of the visitors in Kitale before he returned to his home,” he said.
Mr Kuria said he learnt of his brother’s death from the watchman’s wife and immediately rushed to the farm.
The killing has left the family searching for answers while Njenga’s sister, Nancy Wangari, said the incident had also revived painful memories of an earlier unresolved murder in the family.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) vice-chairperson Ann Wanjiku was among leaders who viewed the body in Kitale on Sunday and called for a thorough investigation.
“We condemn the killing and I urge police to ensure no stone is left unturned. This is a sad incident because we have lost a community leader and a great farmer,” Ms Wanjiku said.
She described Mr Njenga as a respected community leader and farmer whose agricultural business supported many people in the area.
The Mau Mau War Veterans Association, a lobby group representing descendants of Kenya’s independence freedom fighters, also condemned the killing and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Cases of violent crime
Mr James Mahuria, the group’s director-general, said the incident had heightened fear among residents.
“This is a very painful incident and we want police to act fast and charge all those who were involved in this heinous act. We are very sad because of this incident,” he told the Daily Nation.
Endebess OCPD Solomon Esakina confirmed the farmer’s death and said several people including his wife, brother and watchman had been arrested to assist with investigations.
“Detectives have launched investigations and several people, including the deceased’s wife and watchman, are being interrogated,” Mr Esakina told journalists on Monday.
Police said Ms Ng’ethe had no visible injuries when she was found, leaving detectives to establish what happened to her between her reported disappearance from the farm and her discovery unconscious in Kitale.
Investigators are also seeking to establish how the attackers gained access to the home without apparently forcing their way in and whether the reported theft of money was connected to the killing.
Mr Njenga’s body was moved to Crystal Hospital Mortuary in Kitale where it awaits further procedures.
The killing comes against a backdrop of growing concern over violent crime in parts of Trans Nzoia, including a separate investigation into the alleged killings of elderly women and renewed gang activity in Kitale’s informal settlements.
Last week, detectives in Kiminini arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of attacking an 84-year-old woman who later died from her injuries.
Florence Khosa, 84, was admitted to Cherangany Nursing Home in Kitale after sustaining serious injuries in the attack but died while undergoing treatment. Detectives launched a manhunt for the suspect after he went into hiding.
“The painstaking investigations and relentless police operations eventually paid off, with detectives trailing down and arresting the suspect,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a report seen by the Daily Nation last Monday.
The suspect was subsequently subjected to an identification parade where witnesses positively identified him.
Investigators have also linked him to the alleged killing of an 86-year-old woman in Tongaren, Bungoma County.
Detectives said forensic examinations and other lines of inquiry were being pursued to reconstruct the events and establish the circumstances surrounding the offences.
The suspect remains in police custody at Kiminini Sub-County Police headquarters as detectives prepare for his arraignment.
Kiminini OCPD Stephen Mwaniki confirmed that the suspect was being held and was expected to be arraigned before a Bungoma court over the murder of the first victim.
“He is in our custody but DCI is expected to arraign him before court,” Mr Mwaniki told the Nation.
The security concerns extend to Kitale’s informal settlements where residents of Kipsongo and neighbouring estates have raised alarm over what they describe as a resurgence of gang related attacks.
The attacks have disrupted businesses and prompted some residents and students to leave the area.
The estates also accommodate students from Kitale National Polytechnic.
Residents say the latest wave of attacks began about two months after an operation by a special police unit sanctioned by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. They accuse the security agencies of failing to contain the gangs.
Speaking to the Daily Nation at Kipsongo shopping centre, residents said gangs were operating during both the day and night.
“This place has become dangerous for us and even most of the students who used to rent here have left because of insecurity. The gangs operate during the day and at night,” said Mr Michael Sitati, a trader in Kipsongo.
He said his business had been attacked three times in the past two months, causing heavy losses.
Mr Sitati said no suspect had been arrested despite him making a formal complaint to security authorities.
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