Nairobi, Kenya: A human rights lawyer was found dead in her house in Nairobi, with her seven-month-old baby lying beside the body.
The body of Eva Achieng Ayiera, 40, was found on Monday morning in her bedroom in Kileleshwa by her house help.
A caretaker of the apartment building said Ayiera returned on Saturday morning from a foreign trip and that it was not clear how long she had been dead.
She lived with the house help but had given her a few days off upon her return from Sierra Leone.
David Waweru, the caretaker, said Ayiera had been away for a week.
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“She had left the baby with the house help, who has been taking care of her. I saw her on Saturday when she was dropped here by her brother,” said Waweru.
He said Ayiera allowed the house help to take some days off and she was to return on Monday.
He added that the lawyer stayed indoors until around 5pm on Saturday, when walked out of the compound with the baby and returned.
Lawyer stayed indoors
“She was a nice girl who greeted everyone she came across. You would know she has arrived in the compound because of the loud gospel music she played in her car,” said Waweru, adding that she did not leave the house on Sunday.
Another worker who usually cleans Ayiera’s vehicle went to her house on Monday morning as usual to collect the car keys.
“I rang the bell, knocked, and even called her mobile phone in vain. There was no response. I peeped through the keyhole and realised she must have been inside because the key was in the keyhole and we had not seen her get out,” said the worker.
When the house help arrived, the caretaker informed her that they could not raise her employer.
The house help knew how to open the door through a hole. When the door was opened, the house was silent and the rooms in darkness.
According to Waweru, the house help rushed to the bedroom to check on her employer but found her dead. She found the baby tired and suckling her fingers.
Kilimani OCPD Joseph Muthee said the cause of death had yet to be established.
