Trip to rural village which ended in brutal murder of Faith Mueni Mutinda

Harrison Mutisya Muiva and his fiancé Faith Mueni Mutinda hardly visited their rural home, but the last time the couple made the short trip from Nairobi to Kikumbo village of Kalama in Machakos County, the tour ended in a gruesome murder and a bloodstained floor.

Detectives are now trying to piece together clues on what could have transpired on the night of March 25, after Mueni’s lifeless body was discovered on the couple’s matrimonial bed. Their daughter was inside the house oblivious that her mum was no more.

When they arrived at their rural home at around 6.30pm with their four-year-old daughter in tow, Mutisya and Mueni showed no signs of distress. They were in an upbeat mood, according to Mutisya’s father, Richard Muiva.

“Mutisya and Mueni rarely come home. On that day, we tried catching up, had supper together before they retired to their house,” Muiva recounted the March 25 visit of his son and daughter-in-law.

The couple informed Muiva that the purpose of the visit was to renovate their house. Mutisya and Mueni, who were yet to solemnise their union, had indicated that they would drive to the local market to purchase materials the next morning.

The following day, Muiva woke up early to check on his cows in the shed not far away from his son’s house.

The old man was however taken aback on noticing that the couple’s car was not in the compound. It was unusual for Mutisya to leave home without informing his parents.

Further, Mutisya and his fiancé were to leave for the market after taking breakfast with other family members.

“I snooped around their compound but did not see their car. I was concerned since whenever they are around, they don’t leave without alerting us,” said Muiva.

The old man went back to his house and informed his wife Florence that their children had left.

Since he had an errand to run at the nearby shopping centre, Muiva instructed his wife to locate their son and daughter-in-law.

Later, Florence headed to Mutisya’s house where she found her granddaughter in the sitting room watching television. The girl looked hungry.

Florence went back to her kitchen, prepared tea, fed the minor and left assuming that her son and daughter-in-law were still asleep. She left their breakfast on their table. This was around 9am.

About an hour later, Florence went back to her son’s house where she found her grand-daughter playing outside. She instructed her to inform her parents to take their breakfast when they woke up.

But with the clock ticking and still no signs of the couple waking up, a restless Florence returned to their house and inquired from the child whether the parents had woken up.

“My grandchild told her they were still sleeping,” said Muiva.

The response prompted Florence to peep into Harrison’s bedroom, and to her shock, the door was padlocked from outside. She raised the alarm, alerting close friends and family members.

With darkness setting in and no clues on the whereabouts of Mutisya and his wife, the family decided to break into the bedroom at around 9pm. Mueni’s body was found lying in caked blood with multiple injuries.

“She had deep cuts on the head, neck and stomach. We suspect the injuries were inflicted by the panga we recovered hidden in a pit latrine,” said Muiva.

Though Mueni, an assistant manager, Internal Audit at Kenya Railways, was always active on her Facebook account, Muiva said he was not well acquainted with his daughter-in-law.

During the International Women’s Day marked on March 8, Mueni took to Facebook, urging men to appreciate women both at home and the workplace.

“Men should be sensitised about their perception on women. They (men) must understand why equal opportunities should be given to women at home and the workplace. Women love work and nurturing families,” Mueni wrote, urging fellow women to remain focused, sober and alert.

It is believed that after allegedly killing his 35-year-old partner, Mutisya vanished and went into hiding only to be arrested five days later at a lodging in Mlolongo where he had attempted, for the third time, to commit suicide.

According to preliminary investigations, the first attempt to kill himself was in a lodging in Emali town where he had driven in Mueni’s Mazda CX5, which was later found abandoned.

Police said Mutisya, an auditor at Basco Paints, made a second suicide attempt at Masinga Dam before changing his mind about drowning and instead travelled to Mlolongo using public transport.

On April 1, he booked himself into room Number Three at Miniamax Swallows where he once again tried to kill himself by taking poison.

Margaret Nyambura, an attendant at the entertainment joint, alerted police at around 5.30pm when she noticed that their guest had collapsed at the door with foam emanating from the mouth and nose.

Inside the room, police recovered sachets of poison.

Police said during the movements, Mutisya switched off his phone and withdrew money from Mueni’s account through internet banking.

According to Athi River Sub-county Criminal Investigation Officer (SCCIO) John Kanda, when they arrived at the scene, they discovered that it was Mutisya, who was being sought by their counterparts in Kalama.

He was rushed to Kitengela Level 4 Hospital in Kajiado County for first-aid and put under police guard. At the hospital, Mutisya claimed he acted in self-defence.

“My wife is very arrogant, stubborn and dangerous. On that night she took a knife and wanted to stab me. I had to defend myself,” he muttered to journalists while handcuffed in a police vehicle.

Machakos County Criminal Investigation Officer (CCIO) Samson Waithaka said they suspect the panga, which has been taken to the Government Chemist for analysis, was used to kill Mueni.

It is now emerging that Mutisya and Mueni had divorced from previous marriages. Mutisya had sired two children while Mueni had the four-year-old girl, who was in the house the night she was murdered, from another relationship. The two had been cohabiting for three years.

Before her death, it is said Mutisya convinced her to travel with him to Kikumbo village, Katanga location of Kalama Sub-county.