On the morning of February 12, 2021, Caroline Wanjiku Maina stepped out of her South C home in Nairobi with a clear sense of purpose.
A banker-turned-real estate investor, she was a businesswoman on the rise. She believed she was on the verge of a breakthrough that would stabilise her finances and open new doors.
She was headed to sort out her Stima Sacco shares, a task she believed was a routine financial errand. But it would mark the beginning of a carefully orchestrated trap.
Unknown to her, the promise of assistance was a lure into a deadly scheme. That day would become the last traceable moment of her life.
She withdrew Sh350,000 from her account at Co-operative Bank’s Stima Plaza branch in Nairobi. CCTV footage later confirmed her presence; dressed in green top and black trousers, unaware that her movements were being closely tracked.
Moments later, she vanished. Calls to her phone went unanswered and messages unread. As hours turned into a day, her phone was eventually switched off.
When her silver Toyota Axio was discovered abandoned at Gatina Primary School in Kawangware, far from her usual routes, a grim reality began to emerge: Wanjiku had not simply disappeared, something had gone terribly wrong.
Three days later, on February 15, the worst fears were confirmed.
In a bush in Paranai, Kajiado County, herders stumbled upon a partly decomposed body and alerted the area chief, triggering a chain of official responses. The remains were moved to Kajiado County Referral Hospital mortuary.
On February 19, Wanjiku’s sister, Rose, accompanied detectives to the mortuary, where she made the painful confirmation, the body was Wanjiku’s.
Rose Maina narrates how her sister Caroline Wanjiku a businesswoman was murdered on February 12, 2021.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
Conducted by Dr Charles Muturi on behalf of Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor at the Kenyatta Memorial Funeral Home, it revealed that Wanjiku died from severe head injuries caused by blunt force trauma to the forehead and back.
She had also suffered injuries to her left hip, hand, and wrist. These were signs of a violent struggle. She was later laid to rest at her parents’ home in Kangari, Murang’a County.
What followed was a complex investigation that unravelled a web of relationships, betrayal, and calculated deception.
At the centre of it all was a man she trusted: her boyfriend, Edwin Otieno.
According to the investigating officer, Police Constable Ernest Kinyua, the case began as a missing person report at Muthangari Police Station before being referred to DCI Dagoretti and booked under OB 24/13/02/2021.
Initial accounts from friends and relatives indicated that Wanjiku had mentioned she was heading to Stima Sacco in Ngara. Otieno had agreed to guarantee her a loan. She promised to call after the meeting, but that call never came.
PC Kinyua, in his statement, noted that he took over the investigation and began analysing surveillance footage through the National Police Service’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (IC3).
Wanjiku’s car had been trailed from Ngara along Professor Wangari Maathai Road, through Waiyaki Way towards Kawangware by a black Toyota Crown.
The vehicle was traced to Otieno, Wanjiku’s former boyfriend.
At the time, Otieno was at DCI offices in Dagoretti alongside Wanjiku’s friends, apparently seeking help to find her. Detectives quickly turned their attention to him.
Upon interrogation, Otieno claimed his vehicle had been with Samuel Okoth on the material day and that he had not met Wanjiku.
In a twist, Okoth was present at the station. Under questioning, he admitted meeting Wanjiku in Ngara and following her to Kileleshwa before parting ways. Investigators were not convinced.
Later that evening, detectives traced Otieno’s vehicle to his home in Green Park Estate, Athi River. It was towed to Kabete Police Station for forensic analysis.
On February 17, they were presented before Kibera Law Courts, where detectives obtained custodial orders to continue investigations.
As the probe deepened, their accounts began to unravel. After further interrogation, Otieno revealed that Wanjiku had been killed on February 12 by Okoth and implicated two others, Rashid and Joel, as accomplices.
He also led officers to his vehicle, where a pair of handcuffs allegedly used to restrain Wanjiku was recovered from the boot.
Further forensic examination revealed bloodstains on the rear seats and a metal towing hook, also stained with blood, hidden under a seat.
Otieno initially claimed the body had been dumped near Kanungaga Bridge in Kawangware, but searches there yielded nothing.
It was Okoth who eventually led detectives to the actual site in Kajiado, where investigators recovered a blue mask he identified as one worn by Wanjiku on the day she disappeared.
Through coordination with local authorities, detectives confirmed that the body of an unidentified woman found earlier and taken to Kajiado County Referral Hospital was Wanjiku’s.
Vehicle tracking data showed Otieno’s car moving from Athi River to Nairobi’s CBD, then to Ngara, where Wanjiku was last seen alive, confirming they met that morning.
From Ngara, the vehicles moved towards Kawangware, where her car was later abandoned. The same data placed Otieno’s vehicle in Paranai, Kajiado, the site where her body was dumped.
Family members of the late Caroline Wanjiku Maina whose body was found dumped in Kajiado leaving Kenyatta University Funeral Home after receiving postmortem results on February 24,2021.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mobile phone analysis further revealed that Otieno was the last person to communicate with Wanjiku. Shortly after, all suspects switched off their phones.
“The data analysis established that the suspect was in constant communication with the deceased and was the last person to communicate with her, suggesting he lured her into the trap,” the investigating officer stated.
In his statement, Otieno claimed Wanjiku had sought help regarding her Stima Sacco issues and money she allegedly owed him. They agreed to meet in Ngara.
He said he met Okoth and Rashid earlier on Koinange Street, and together they proceeded to meet Wanjiku at the bank.
“While waiting in the car, Okoth asked how much Wanjiku was planning to pay. I told him it was Sh2 million. Okoth said she ought to pay all her dues, and if she failed, she would know him well,” Otieno told investigators.
Later, Wanjiku joined them and suggested they move to Kawangware to avoid city council askaris and also purchase house items.
“She gave me her car keys and asked me to drive to Kawangware. She said she wanted to discuss Sacco issues and personal matters with Okoth. She moved to the back seat with Rashid, while Okoth drove,” he said.
Otieno claimed he noticed a struggle and heard demands for money. Rashid was strangling Wanjiku as Okoth insisted she had money and must settle her debts.
Moments later, she fell silent.
Okoth would later confess that they struck her on the head with a metal towing hook before dumping her body in Kajiado.
Wanjiku’s cousin, Alice Peninah, described her as ambitious and resilient. She studied at Limuru Girls before joining Egerton University in Njoro, where she graduated with a degree in food science.
Pauline Maina narrates how she learnt about the death of her sister Caroline Wanjiku a businesswoman who was murdered on February 12, 2021.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
In 2019, she relocated to Nairobi and started a real estate company and a restaurant. Like many entrepreneurs, she faced setbacks, including closing the restaurant due to rent arrears of Sh300, 000, before focusing fully on real estate through her companies, EXEC and Dunmore Limited.
“There was a time we planned to secure a loan, but we were unable because we did not have security. Most of her expenses were being funded by Otieno,” Peninah said.
In June 2020, Wanjiku sought help to secure a car loan. With her cousin’s support, she acquired a vehicle worth Sh1.1 million, payable in monthly instalments of Sh29,750 and she remained consistent in repayment.
The case, built on forensic evidence, digital trails, and confessions, appeared strong.
However, it would later take a legal turn that left lingering questions.
A victim impact assessment document shows that Okoth entered into a plea bargain with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), pleading to a lesser charge of manslaughter on January 29, 2024.
He admitted meeting the deceased with accomplices and travelling to Kajiado, where a confrontation occurred. He said he struck her with a whisky bottle, leading to her death.
The ODPP stated that while the emotional toll of such loss is immeasurable, plea bargaining offers a faster, more efficient alternative to lengthy trials, preserving judicial and investigative resources.
Officials also indicated that several meetings were held with the victim’s family to explain the process, with the last taking place on May 20, 2024.
Okoth was later sentenced to eight years in prison, while Otieno was acquitted.
For Wanjiku’s family, the pain remains raw, a reminder that beyond court verdicts lie shattered lives and unanswered questions.
Her sister, Rose Maina, recalls the distressing call on a Saturday afternoon, just days before Valentine’s Day, when Wanjiku failed to return home.
It was unlike her to disappear or switch off her phone. Sensing something was wrong, the family travelled from Embu to Nairobi the following day to begin the search.
They retraced her steps, filed reports, and spent long hours at police stations as anxiety grew. Days later, hope began to fade as they searched hospitals and mortuaries across Nairobi.
Then came a call from the investigating officer, asking them to travel to Kajiado.
Accompanied by relatives, they made the journey. When they were directed to a mortuary, the weight of what awaited them became unbearable.
“I remember I fainted because even before I entered, I thought I had already gone through a lot. It wasn’t easy. There was a body lying on the slab and I was told to identify if it was my sister. At some point I didn’t want to believe it was her,” she said.
Years later, the wounds remain fresh. Rose stepped in to care for Wanjiku’s two children, navigating both emotional and financial strain.
The children continue to struggle with the loss, often asking questions that have no answers.
Nearly five years on, the family feels abandoned by a system they had hoped would deliver justice.
Pauline Maina still carries the weight of her sister’s death, describing her as more than a sibling, a confidant, provider, and mother figure.
She says the family followed the legal process, attending court sessions and cooperating with investigators, only to face delays and repeated adjournments.
Over time, the toll became overwhelming, and they began to feel the case was slipping away.
The situation shifted further when they were informed of a plea bargain application. Pauline says the family formally objected in writing to the ODPP.
She adds that the lack of communication from authorities has deepened their frustration, leaving them without clarity on the status of the case or its direction.
Pauline insists the truth lies with those directly involved, dismissing public speculation about Wanjiku’s life.
“As a family, we feel it is unfair that my sister’s case has never been given the justice it deserves. The only person who knows why her death happened is her and Edwin who killed her,” she said.
