Hijacked civil servant, George Gikonyo, found dead along Nairobi-Karatina road

A senior civil servant based at Wambugu Farmers training centre was yesterday found murdered and dumped near Holwe dam in Mathira, Nyeri County.

Consequently Police in Ruiru are grilling three suspects who are believed to be behind the murder after they intercepted the hijacked vehicle at a roadblock.

George Gikonyo, who worked as a senior engineer with the Ministry of Energy at the Farmers Training Centre, was found brutally murdered adjacent to the dam.

George Gikonyo, 52, was found murdered along the Nyeri-Karatina Road on October 14 2015 by unknown people after he was carjacked in Nyeri Town. (PHOTO: KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD)

Tension engulfed Thaithi Village after the body of engineer George Gikonyo was found dumped adjacent to a dam along Nyeri-Karatina highway by gangsters.

Nyeri Central police boss Charles Rotich confirmed that they received information from car trackers on Tuesday night that Gikonyo's vehicle, a Toyota Harrier, had been hijacked.

"My team swiftly swung into action and instructed traffic officers along the busy Nyeri-Nairobi highway to mount roadblocks," Rotich told the press at the scene.

Sources privy to the investigation told the Standard that the car tracking system of the hijacked vehicle showed it had circled the dam several times before Gikonyo was killed.

Rotich however said that the suspects, who took off with Gikonyo’s vehicle, were not so lucky because on reaching Ruiru, they were intercepted at a road block where they were arrested.

"The three men are being grilled at Ruiru Police Station to unravel the mystery behind the murder of the engineer," the police boss noted.

He said they will later be ferried to Nyeri Central Police Station to assist with further investigations.

Rotich said that the three are suspected to have handcuffed the deceased and strangled him using a rope.

Some relatives of George Gikonyo, who was found murdered along the Nyeri-Karatina Road on October 14 2015 by unknown people, could not hold back their tears after identifying the body at the scene on October 14 2015. (PHOTO: KIBATA KIHU/ STANDARD)

A friend to the deceased who was lastly spotted with him, William Hinga, told the media that they shared two drinks at a local pub in Nyeri town at around 8 p.m.

"Gikonyo left at around 8:30 p.m. and told me that he was going to buy something at the supermarket," Hinga claimed.

He said that a few minutes after midnight another friend called to informing him that Gikonyo had been hijacked.

Gikonyo was residing at Wambugu Farmers Training Centre as his family lives in Nairobi.

His body was moved to Nyeri County Referral Hospital mortuary as investigations continue.