Kenya’s National Police Service has documented 339 murder cases in the past two months, marking a slight increase from previous years as investigators grapple with several high-profile cases including a suspected serial killer targeting taxi drivers.
The latest figures, released by Inspector General Douglas Kanja Kirocho, show murder cases edged up from 336 in 2023, though remaining below the 341 cases recorded in 2022 during the same August to October period.
Among the most significant cases, police have arrested Edwin Ngetich Kipkemboi in connection with multiple attacks on taxi drivers. Kipkemboi was apprehended in Nakuru while driving a vehicle belonging to Victoria Mumbua, a missing Mombasa taxi driver whose body was later recovered along the Mai Mahiu-Naivasha Highway.
Forensic analysis of mobile phones recovered from the suspect has linked him to another murder of George Njuguna, a taxi driver from Migori County. Investigators discovered Njuguna’s body in a thicket with severe neck wounds, while his vehicle was recovered in Nakuru with altered registration numbers. Police have also connected Kipkemboi to two additional robbery cases involving taxi drivers.
The police report detailed several other disturbing cases across the country. A Wells Fargo employee, Willis Onyango Aiyeko, 52, was found dead in Mungowere stream, Khwisero Sub-County, after being reported missing. His body is being transported to Nairobi for autopsy under police escort.
In Kajiado County, CCTV footage captured the murder of James Nyaata Onchiri, 62, a local advocate. The footage showed his office messenger, Erick Ondiek, dragging Onchiri from a bar before allegedly running him over with a vehicle. Five suspects, including the bar owner and staff, have been arrested and remanded for five days.
A particularly gruesome case involves the murder of three family members in Eastleigh Estate, Nairobi. The victims – Dahabo Daud Said, 38, Amina Abdirashid Dahir, 22, and Nusayba Abdi Mohammed, 13 – were found with stab wounds at different locations across the region. Two human hands, believed to be Dahabo’s, were later recovered in South C along Five-Star Road.
In Thika Township, the body of 23-year-old Seth Nyakio Njeri was discovered in a friend’s house at Blessing Building in Biafra Estate. A post-mortem revealed death by asphyxiation due to manual strangulation and smothering.
The case of missing Wajir County Member of County Assembly Yusuf Hussein remains unresolved after DNA analysis revealed a body found in Lake Yahud was not his. Hussein has been missing since September 13 from Makadara, Nairobi.
“We wish to assure the public of our commitment to investigate these heinous acts of crime to their logical conclusions and bring the perpetrators to book,” stated Inspector General Kirocho in the report.
The police have called for public cooperation in their investigations, urging citizens to report any criminal activities or suspects to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Homicide Unit or their nearest police station.
