Detectives at Ruiru Police Station were shocked after a murder suspect detailed how he allegedly killed his wife and stuffed her body in a suitcase before dumping it.
In the confession statement dated April 22, Mr Morris Njuguna, 28, said he committed the crime on the night of April 18 at Mitikenda Estate on the outskirts of Ruiru town.
Risper Ndunge spent the better part of Monday last week working at a local restaurant together with her husband, Mr Njuguna.
Mr Njuguna is the chef at the eatery located on the Eastern Bypass in Ruiru, Kiambu County, while his wife of nine months worked as the cashier. Theirs was love brewed inside the fish joint where they had met.
As they served customers on Monday, nothing indicated that death was stalking Ndunge.
Mr Njuguna said her death shocked him and he decided to stuff the body in a suitcase and dump it to escape arrest. He then put the suitcase in a white sack.
"I tied up the sack's opening with a string and set out to dump the body," he said.
However, her lifeless body would be found the following day stashed in the sack and dumped 500 metres from their rented house within Kamakis area on the Eastern Bypass.
"I abandoned the suitcase near a rental house and went back home. I was scheming on how to run away, but I had no money, so I delayed," he said.
He was arrested on April 21. Mitikenda Estate residents had seen him struggling to carry the sack. After the body was found, neighbours recognised Ndunge.
Mr Njuguna has been arrested as the prime suspect in Ndunge’s murder and will be arraigned today. According to the police Ndunge appeared to have been hit with a blunt object. The police said the confession will only be relevant should the suspect plead guilty in court.
"We can only hope that he will plead guilty and help us wrap up this case. But should he plead not guilty, we will have the task of proving his culpability," said Ruiru Sub County Police Commander Alexander Shikondi.
On the fateful day, the couple is reported to have quarrelled inside their rented house. The police said Mr Njuguna left work earlier than usual on Monday and bought a polythene sack. It is suspected that the bag is the same one Ndunge’s body was found stashed in.
“The suspect has confessed to us that he indeed killed the wife on Monday last week. He later stashed the body of the deceased in a polythene sack and dumped it 500 metres from their rented house in Kamakis area, the same night,” Ruiru DCIO Justus Ombati told Nation.Africa yesterday.
Mr Njuguna was tracked through his mobile phone and arrested at his parents' home in Makuyu, Murang’a County.
Police say he had travelled to Makuyu where he hid Ndunge's mobile phone in an attempt to cover his tracks.
Mr Ombati yesterday said Mr Njuguna then led police to their rented house where they noted there were blood stains.
“The suspect will be arraigned at Ruiru Law Court tomorrow [today] where we will charge him with murder. He has already owned up and confessed that he indeed committed the offence. We appeal to young couples to find ways of solving their marital problems when they arise instead of taking someone else's innocent life,” Mr Ombati appealed.
The latest killing rekindles memories of another gruesome murder in Kiambu County less than a month ago. The body of an unidentified woman was found dumped near General Kago Funeral Home in Thika Town.
In January last year, Esther Wambui, 18, was murdered and her body dumped outside GSU Recce Squad camp at Ruiru Kimbo area. It had been stashed in a suitcase.
