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The mother of a man whose alleged skeleton was found in their house in Embakasi Nyayo estate says her son was hardheaded.
Lucy Kina Munyi disclosed that her last-born son, Peter Njagi, frequently sneaked out of school.
“Out of my four children, he is the only one who gave me a difficult time, he even changed secondary schools because of his behaviour,” said Lucy.
The 50-year-old woman denied foul play and attempted cover-up accusations by a section of residents who wondered how and why she failed to detect the stench of decaying body in the ceiling of her maisonette.
“Those questioning why I did not feel any stench don’t know what they are talking about. I wish they knew the design of my house.
The upper floor where the skeleton was discovered is made of thick concrete slab and there is no ventilation from above,” said Lucy.
The businesswoman said at one time, she approached a senior police officer for help after her son disappeared; but he showed up after one week.
Njagi who completed secondary education in 2013 went to live with his sister in Buruburu where he enrolled for a driving course.
He reunited with his mother in 2014 when the sister relocated to the United States of America for greener pastures. Persuasion by the mother to further his education in Australia fell on deaf ears.
“He kept insisting that he wanted to go to America. The last time they spoke with the sister, they agreed that she will come to collect him in 2015,” recalls Lucy, who is certain that the skeleton belongs to the son.
But government chief pathologist Johansen Oduor said it is too early to draw conclusions unless a DNA test is done. Doing a proper test takes about three months.
“We took samples for DNA to confirm whether he is the one. At the moment, we are just relying on assumptions. You might risk concluding he is the one but one day, the real person suddenly appears,” stated Oduor.
According to the pathologist, preliminary investigations on the skeleton shows there were no signs of physical injury or strangulation.
Toxicological tests were conducted on some tissues found next to the bones, Oduor added.
Peter, then aged 22, went missing in August 2014. His mother claims that during that time, she was on a business trip to Kakamega before detouring to her rural village in Embu for a merry-go-round meeting.
It is alleged that the deceased was at home with his elder brother. When Lucy came back after three days and enquired about Njagi, her older son claimed that he didn’t know his whereabouts.
“He had a history of disappearing and returning after several days. As a family, we were not bothered much until the wait prolonged,” said Lucy on December 20 at the Embakasi Police Station where she was recording a statement.
Nicassio Mbogo, a visiting cousin, stumbled on the skeleton when he went up the ceiling to check on a water tank.
Nairobi County head of investigation Nicholas Kamwende said the line of investigation will be clear after the conclusion of the forensic tests on the skeleton.
