Police are investigating an incident where a man’s skeleton was found in a city estate.
The skeleton, which was found in a house in Nyayo estate, Nairobi, is believed to be of a man who went missing two years ago.
The skeleton was discovered in the very house he had been living in. A family member told the police the man went missing in August 2014 in unclear circumstances.
According to the family of Peter Njagi Munyi, 22, efforts to trace him had borne no fruits.
On Wednesday this week, at around 5pm, Njagi’s mother, Lucy Kina, rushed to Embakasi Police Station to report they had discovered a skeleton in the ceiling of their house.
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She reported that her nephew, Nicassio Mbogo, had gone to the ceiling to check on the water tank when he saw a pair of shoes. Next to the shoes he discovered a human skeleton.
Mr Mbogo informed his aunt, who also climbed to the roof to see the find. The ceiling serves as a holding ground for water tanks of the maisonettes at Nyayo Embakasi estate.
Police moved the remains to Chiromo Mortuary for preservation as investigations began.
It was not immediately clear how the body found its way there. Police believe Njagi may have been killed and the body placed there. Nairobi Area police boss Japheth Koome said his officers were investigating the incident.
MURDER THEORY
“The ceiling is about a metre in height and it seems to be a murder incident. Experts are on the case to unravel more,” he said, adding that the police want to know how the body stayed there without attracting attention for that long.
“Unless the man was killed and preserved somewhere for long or the family was not in the house, it is not possible to stay in such a house without detecting the smell,” he said.
The gate to House 208 was locked yesterday when journalists visited the scene. White curtains on the one-story building were drawn.
Inquiries by The Standard established that little was known about the family. “They are quiet people and they rarely interact with neighbours,” said a neighbour who requested anonymity.
“We came to hear of the incident last night as police left with something wrapped in a sheet. We can not for sure tell what happened,” he added.
The incident seemed to have caught security guards at the estate unawares, as they too said they learnt of it when police arrived to collect the remains.
Another neighbour said the family had travelled to their Embu home to prepare for the burial of the man who was then doing supplies business with the Government.
Police said they will conduct DNA tests to establish if the remains belong to Njagi.
