A Kenya Defence Forces officer Major Peter Mugure is expected to be arraigned at a Nanyuki court today in connection with the murder of a woman and her two children.

The homicide detectives are finalising the investigations at the Laikipia Airbase to prosecute all suspects linked to the murder of 31-year-old Joyce Syombua and her two children Shanice Maua, 10, and Prince Michael, 5.

The three bodies were on Saturday discovered at Makaburini in Thingithu area while stacked. The 34-year-old Mugure (pictured) is said to have married Syombua and they had two children.

The Standard on Monday unraveled the events prior to the mysterious disappearance and death of the mother and her two children.

Mr Mugure, who is the prime suspect in the killings, had planned to attend his daughter’s birthday.

He had told Joyce Syombua to bring Shanice Maua, 10, and Prince Michael, 5, to Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki so that they could catch up before Shanice’s birthday on November 1.

Shanice was to celebrate her 11th birthday during the visit with her father, who trained as a civil engineer at the University of Nairobi.

Elizabeth Malombe who is Syombua’s mother claimed that a few of Mugure’s relatives were opposed to the union and discouraged him from getting married to her daughter.

“After they separated, they (relatives) went to collect his bags from the house he was living in with Syombua. They allegedly told her that he had told them to collect everything that belonged to him from that house,” said Ms Malombe.

Syombua’s friend, Farrizanah Katengu, told The Standard that Mugure had not seen his children for a long time.

“Syombua said that Mugure told her he did not want to appear like a stranger to the children during the birthday party. He asked them to visit him so that he could spend time with them,” said Farrizanah on the telephone.

Close relationship

Farrizanah said that the two got married immediately after Syombua finished school.

“She got pregnant with Shanice but they separated after eight months and Syombua went back to her mother’s house in Kayole,” said Farrizanah.

The friend said that Syombua, who worked at a bakery in Kayole, later got pregnant with Michael.

Farrizanah said that Mugure had once denied siring Michael, which prompted the mother to seek legal intervention for child support.

“A DNA test showed that he was the biological father of Shanice and Prince Michael. He was ordered to pay for the children’s food and school fees,” said Farrizanah.

She told The Standard that Mugure was unhappy with the court ruling that ordered him to pay child support after Syombua reported him for neglecting his children.

Farrizanah’s description of the troubled relationship between Mugure and Syombua appeared to corroborate Malombe’s story about her daughter’s rocky union.

Domestic issues

A colleague of Mugure who requested anonymity revealed that Mugure, who hails from Lari in Kiambu County, had built a family house in Ongata Rongai.

“They had domestic issues and it disturbed him. But he never looked distressed in public. He was acting normal,” said the source.

The source, who works with Mugure, described him as humble and claimed that he may have wanted to reconcile with his estranged partner.