Detectives in Kitale are piecing together events that led to the murder of a middle-aged woman whose decomposing body was found wrapped in a blanket and buried in a shallow grave.
Three men — Reuben Karakacha Mukhwana, Tom Wafula Khamala and Amos Rugut — are suspected to be behind the woman’s murder. they were arrested on Saturday by detectives at the home where her grave was discovered during a police operation.
Detectives tracking the suspects stumbled on the fresh grave in front of their rented home at Mokoiywet village, Waitaluk ward in Kiminini Sub-County. The three had locked themselves in the house.
Mr Mukhwana, Mr Khamala and Mr Rugut, who have been described by police as armed and dangerous, are believed to be part of a gang that has been terrorising residents of Kitale town, and linked to the increasing criminal activities in the area.
Villagers follow the exhumation exercise of the body of woman from a shallow grave in Mokoiywet village in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County on September 10, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Jaola | Nation Media Group
They have been on police radar for a series of murder and robbery incidents in Kitale town and its environs.
It has emerged that they had rented the mud house three months ago, and police suspect they used it as a hideout to plan their criminal activities.
DCI forensic experts exhume body of murdered woman from shallow grave where killers buried her
On Monday, a Kitale court granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers permission to exhume the woman’s body and continue holding the suspects in custody to allow more time for investigations.
Residents of Waitaluk thronged the scene of the crime where the body of the woman, identified as Alice Chemtai, was exhumed by detectives on Tuesday morning.
The more than two-hour exhumation exercise was led by forensics officers from DCI under tight security.
Anxious members of the public followed the proceedings from a distance, amid fears that more bodies were buried at the scene.
However, at the end of the exercise, only the woman’s body was retrieved with investigators confirming that no more graves had been discovered at the scene.
Trans Nzoia County Criminal Investigation boss Paul Songok, who led the multi-agency team in the exercise, said preliminary investigations indicated that the deceased was the girlfriend of one of the suspects.
“As you can all see we have only found one body contrary to what is being spread on social media that there was a massive grave here. From our preliminary investigations, this deceased was in a relationship with one of the suspects in our custody,” Mr Songok said on Tuesday.
Villagers follow the exhumation exercise of the body of woman from a shallow grave in Mokoiywet village in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County on September 10, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Jaola | Nation Media Group
He also revealed that relatives of the deceased had since identified the body positively and more forensic assessment and post-term would be carried out.
“We cannot ascertain how the deceased was killed because of the state of the body. We are waiting for post-mortem to show the cause of death,” noted Mr Songok.
Relatives of the deceased who sought not to be identified emotionally witnessed the exercise, revealing that they last saw their kin a week ago.
Police reports indicate that Mr Mukhwana, Mr Khamala and Mr Rugut are linked to two other murder incidents in Kitale.
Preliminary investigations have also connected the three to a series of criminal activities, including murder, robbery with violence, and theft of motorbikes.
The county DCI boss said investigators were still piecing together events that led to the murder of the woman.
After police left the scene, angry and emotional residents stormed the home and destroyed the muddy house rented by the suspects.
They called on police to ensure the arrest of all their connections, convinced that they were behind a series of bloody murders that had occurred in the area.
“We have had several killings in this area and we link them to the suspects. Just a few days ago, we lost a young man who is still in the mortuary,” lamented Kelvin Mulanda, a resident.
“These people rented this house about three months ago, and now you can see what has happened. We call on the government to boost our security and arrest all criminals in this area,” village elder Peter Tabalia said.
