RIGHT GRACE WANGARI MOTHER TO PIUS MUIRU PHOTO COURTESY
Just like in the movies, the body of Pastor Pius Muiru’s mother was
discovered in a shallow grave in her homestead in Kigumo, Murang’a
County. That was on the night of March 20.
As the family grapples with the mysterious murder, detectives in
Murang’a are working round the clock to unravel the puzzling death of
Grace Wangari who died at the age of 75.
According to investigations, the murder of Wangari could have
been provoked by an illicit affair between Wangari’s watchman Ezekiel
Saitambua, 33, and her daughter-in-law, Monica Muthoni, 36. The suspects
have both given shocking confessions.
A detective investigating the murder confirmed that the watchman
not only confessed about the infidelity, but also revealed that he was
seeing another woman who lives in the nearby Mariira town. Some items
belonging to the late Wangari, including bedding and gas cylinders were
discovered in this woman’s house.
Kigumo OCPD Ali Zimbu told The Nairobian that, “At the moment,
we will not focus on this other woman as it might divert our
investigations. That is their problem that they have to deal with. Our
focus is on collecting tangible evidence about the murder.”
Inside the tightly-secured homestead, Saitambua and Muthoni
reportedly developed feelings for each other, a development that the
deceased did not approve of and almost cost Saitambua his job. To the
outside world, this affair did not exist until Saitambua confessed at
Kigumo Police Station. He also confessed to killing and burying Wangari
after Muthoni promised to pay him Sh6,000.
Pastor Muiru suspects that Muthoni and Saitambua may have murdered his mother because she knew too much about their affair.
“That is what we think, but what were they thinking would happen next?” he wonders.
An elder from the area hinted that only immediate family and some
clan members knew about the illicit affair and how it had strained the
relationship between Wangari and the suspects.
“She complained a lot about her daughter-in-law and the
watchman, but her son wasn’t bothered so much. Muthoni and Saitambua
were rude to her and she even beefed security at home fearing for her
safety. She would lock herself inside her house before 9pm,” said the
elder.
Wangari lived in her Kigumo home with two watchmen, his two
sons; Mathew Waweru and Philip Kabue and Muthoni, who is the wife of
Waweru, the deceased’s last born. Kabue who is an older son is not
married.
Her well-off pastor son Muiru visited regularly. Waweru runs a
transport business, while Kabue has a shop at the nearby shopping
centre. Wangari owned property in a number of towns along the
Kangari-Kaharati road.
When contacted, Waweru claimed his wife who hails from the
neighbouring ward is innocent and did not have any affair with
Saitambua. The couple has three children.
While the family has opted to keep off Waweru’s bedroom matters,
Saitambua and neighbours claim that for a while, things had not been
rosy at the homestead.
“There was an altercation barely 24-hours before the old woman was killed,” He told daily news
On March 19, Pastor Muiru’s wife Lucy Muiru, had visited the
homestead to discuss a number of issues, but mostly to warn Saitambua to
respect Wangari and keep off family matters. A family member suspects
that the meeting may have prompted Wangari’s murder.
According to another neighbour, “Wangari had no regular visitors.
Her two watchmen took care of her daily needs and ran errands for her.”
Meanwhile, about a week before her death, her cow was poisoned
and buried at the same shallow grave Wangari’s body was discovered.
“The killing of the cow was a ploy to justify excavation and
cover up of possible stench of my mother’s body, whose murder had
clearly been planned earlier,” Muiru said.
On the fateful day, Waweru found her mum missing and her house
was also in a disarray. Saitambua and Muthoni claimed they didn’t know
her whereabouts and her phone was off. This prompted Muiru to reach out
to Safaricom for help. The prime suspect had also made an M-Pesa
transaction at the nearby Karega shopping centre.
“They traced her sim card and located it in the homestead. An
ambush was made on the night of March 22. Saitambua was found in
possession of the phone and after interrogation, he confessed to the
murder and took investigators to the shallow grave where they had buried
her,” an elderly neighbour said, adding that, “Muthoni was also picked
by police officers after she was implicated in the murder.”
The family of Wangari learnt of her death at midnight and her
body was exhumed the following day. The two suspects were members of
Muiru’s Maximum Miracle Centre church in the area.
The death of Wangari has divided relatives. While some are willing to accept and move on, others want justice.
Pastor Muiru, a 2007 presidential aspirant told The Daily News that they want to know the motive behind the killing.
“We will forgive the killers, but this should not be mistaken for
setting them free. There is the rule of law that should prevail. I
still don’t understand why they killed my mother and went about their
business unperturbed knowing very well they had buried her just a few
metres away,”
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