A 72-year-old woman, Jane Wawira, has been found dead in River Kiringa in Kirinyaga County, three days after she was reported missing.
The body of the elderly woman was discovered on Sunday morning by a fisherman who spotted it floating in the river.
Wawira, a resident of Gitondo village in Njuuku sub-location, Gichugu constituency, had gone missing on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
According to the police, Wawira was last seen at a local shopping center where she had gone to sell a cow.
She was reportedly a pillion passenger on a motorbike, on her way home, but she never reached her destination.
Her family and neighbors had started a frantic search after she failed to return home, but it was not until Sunday that her lifeless body was discovered in the river.
The discovery of her body has raised many questions, with some residents suspecting foul play.
Many believe that Wawira may have been robbed and killed before her body was dumped in the river.
Denis Muriithi, a close relative, said that Wawira was returning home from the market when the incident occurred.
He mentioned that he suspected people from the village might have been involved in her death. “I have a feeling this may have been done by people known to her here in the village,” Muriithi said.
Following the tragic discovery of her body, a mob formed and attacked the homes of people they believed were involved in her death.
One of the suspected individuals had their house set on fire by the angry crowd, destroying property.
A second suspect had their house surrounded, but police officers managed to rescue them from the mob before any harm could be done.
The police have urged residents not to take the law into their own hands and to allow the authorities to handle the investigation.
Kirinyaga-East (Gichugu) Sub-County police commander, Johnson Wachira, confirmed the incident and stated that the case was being treated as a drowning for now.
However, he emphasized that the police would continue with the investigations to establish whether foul play was involved.
“At the moment, we are treating the matter as drowning until statements are recorded,” Wachira said.
The body of the deceased was taken to Kibugi Funeral Home in Kutus, where a postmortem will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
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