University-bound student murdered body found in a shallow grave

Police in Nyamira are investigating a case in which a 22-year-old man is suspected of killing his girlfriend and burying her body at a quarry in Mang'ong'o, Nyamaiya area.

Bomanyanya Location Chief Livingston Mabuka said the body of 20-year-old Faith Kemunto was discovered after the suspect allegedly texted detectives, directing them to the shallow grave.

According to Chief Mabuka, the suspect used the deceased's phone to request Sh500 from Kemunto's brother.

The brother refused to send the money.

A day later, another message-sent from the same phone-was delivered to detectives at Nyamira North Subcounty, stating that "they had killed Kemunto" and providing directions to the quarry, a site locals use to excavate murram for construction.

Chief Mabuka revealed that Kemunto and her lover were preparing to enroll at Machakos University for different bachelor's degree programs. On July 30, the suspect allegedly lured Kemunto to his parents' home in Bondeka, about two kilometres from her home in Kanani Village.

"Reports we have indicate the boy called her to his home around 5 p.m. Shortly after, her phone went off and she could not be reached," Mabuka said.

He added that Kemunto's mother had objected to her visiting the boyfriend late in the evening, but the young woman went anyway.

Detectives later traced Kemunto's phone signal to the suspect's home, where they recovered her shoes. The suspect's mother was briefly arrested when the girl was reported missing, but was released after investigators found no evidence linking her directly to the disappearance.

The suspect remains at large. "Even now, he remains at large, but we are trying to close in on him," said a detective who requested anonymity.

As of Wednesday evening, Kemunto's body remained in the shallow grave, awaiting exhumation. Nyamira County Commissioner Erastus Mbui confirmed that security agencies had already sought court orders for both the exhumation and postmortem.

"After confirming the body was buried there, we sealed and secured the scene as a crime area pending exhumation," Chief Mabuka added.