Woman abducted in Nyeri, remains found six years later in Nanyuki finally buried

A woman who was abducted and killed five years ago has finally been accorded a proper burial by her family following the discovery of her remains in a shallow grave.

Ruth Gathoni’s remains were interred at her home in Mabanda village, Unjiru sub-location, Nyeri County, on Tuesday in a ceremony presided over by African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) clerics.

The remains were discovered at a construction site in Muthaiga Estate, Nanyuki town, in Laikipia County on September 30, 2023 by workers who were putting up a perimeter wall.

The discovery of the remains, which were later confirmed to be of the missing woman through DNA tests, marked the end of a long search by family and friends and the beginning of the trial of the main suspect who is in remand.

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According to the family, the mother of two was abducted in Nyeri town on August 18, 2018 while on her way to Nanyuki.

Acquaintances of the deceased said she was a regular visitor to the plot where the remains were discovered as she was said to have been a close friend of the caretaker. When she was reported missing, the caretaker was arrested and charged before a Nanyuki court but was later released for lack of evidence.

The same suspect, Mr David Wagiita, said to be a pastor at a local church, was re-arrested and arraigned on December 18 last year but did not plead to the charges after detectives requested for more time to complete investigations.

He is now scheduled to appear in court on January 30 to plead to the murder charges.

It was an emotional time as close family members gathered at Gathoni’s home after a church service at Kiandu AIPCA to say goodbye. The preacher and other mourners said they will not rest until the murderers are punished.

Gathoni’s son, Anthony Kimondo, 36, said his mother, who was a businesswoman in Kayole, Nairobi, was kidnapped after viewing a parcel of land in Nyeri.

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“I was with her that day. She was to go to Nanyuki. I left her in the company of another person. She never came back,” Anthony said.

“After three days, we started receiving shot text messages from her line claiming that her phone had a broken screen and the earphone was affected and so she could not talk. The messages were sent to most of her contacts asking for Sh10,000 that she would refund once she goes back to Nairobi. What surprised us is that the messages were also sent to her nephew who was in Form One.

“That is when we decided to file a missing person report at Nyeri Police Station and the search for her started. The suspect who was last seen with her was arrested but later released due to lack of evidence,” Mr Kimondo said.

The family, he said, continued receiving text messages from suspected fraudsters with some of them stating that Gathoni was in Tanzania.

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Mr Kimondo said the family’s interest was piqued after a local media house reported remains of a person found in Nanyuki.

“Part of the skull and hands were found the first day, leading to DNA tests that showed 99 per cent the remains belonged to my mother. The other parts were later recovered and a second DNA test done, which also turned positive,” Mr Kimondo said.

He added that the close to six-year search for his mother had been agonising, but his family was always hopeful his mother would “come back”.

“Yes, she has finally come back although not in a way we wanted,” he said. “We want the government to tell us what happened to our mother. We want justice. Yes, we have laid her to rest but justice must be done.”

Gathoni’s daughter, Caroline, said the family had suffered sleepless nights and “dim” days looking for her since she disappeared. “But we kept hoping you will resurface alive. God is faithful. Rest in peace mum.”