A tussle over a tea farm in Othaya has torn a family apart, leaving a 68-year-old farmer dead and his wife and children in police custody for alleged murder.
What started as a missing person report on last week has since escalated to a case of attempted murder, an alleged attempted suicide and murder involving a man, his wife and their two children.
Felix Thuku, now deceased, had been reported missing on the morning of Monday October 11, 2021.
To the residents of Gikuruwe in Othaya, Nyeri County, Thuku had vanished from home following a dispute with his family over the control of their tea farm.
But what they did not realise was just how far the dispute had escalated; Thuku was dead, his wife Esther Wangui was fighting for her life and their children were keeping a dark secret.
Deep cuts
It would later emerge that at dawn on Monday, Thuku had quarrelled with his wife and he slashed her with a machete. She sustained deep cuts in the face and head from the attack.
The fight reportedly attracted the attention of their children. Their son Samuel Muturi, 40, responded first.
“Neighbours claim to have heard Muturi yell at his father whom he accused of mistreating their mother as he rushed her to hospital,” their nephew Jeremiah Kabiru told Nation.Africa
The neighbours did not realise that something sinister had transpired before Ms Wangui was rushed to hospital.
“From the commotion there were rumours that my uncle had stabbed himself after attacking his wife,” Mr Kabiru said.
Police then decided to hold Mr Muturi for questioning over the disappearance of his father. He was arrested when he went to record a statement at Othaya Police Station.
As of Wednesday morning, Thuku was still missing, his wife was in hospital and their son in police custody. The pieces of the puzzle then began to fall into place when locals spotted a trail of blood spots from the house leading into their farm.
Considering Ms Wangui had not been to the farm after allegedly being attacked by her husband, a search for Thuku began.
“We followed the trail of blood to an old unused pit latrine in the farm. It had been shut so one of my relatives decided to check in there,” Mr Kabiru said
Crime scene
Their suspicion was confirmed with the discovery of the body of Thuku inside the latrine. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations and crime scene analysts were called in to retrieve the body.
Thuku’s throat had been slit before being dragged out of the house through the farm and his body dumped into the pit latrine.
Two more arrests
The discovery of the body presented new evidence placing his wife and children at the centre of the crime. This prompted two more arrests. The wife was called in to record a statement after being discharged from Kenyatta National Hospital Othaya Annex. Police arrested her at Othaya Police Station.
Their daughter Esther Wangui was arrested at their home following the discovery of her father’s body.
The motive of the murder is believed to be a prolonged dispute on the management of the family land and especially the tea farm.
“There had been a longstanding dispute over the farm. The entire family must have been involved,” Mr Kabiru said as he called on detectives to expedite the investigations.
Nyeri South Sub County Police boss told the media that three relatives had been arrested but the identities were not released immediately.
The suspects were on Thursday arraigned at Othaya Law Courts as detectives made a miscellaneous application to continue holding them to conclude investigations. BY DAILY NATION