Death of 93-year-old sparks fears of targetted murders
David Macharia
Monday’s rape and killing of Shipila Mukami Ndumia, a 93-year-old elderly woman in Laikipia has sparked fears that criminals are deliberately targeting old women in parts of Central Kenya.
The rape and killing of Ndumia, who lived alone, shocked Mutara village in Laikipia Central since she was a well-known church elder in the area where she was known as “Cucu wa Mutiga”.
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“My mother was well known in the village because of her social work as a church elder,” said a son, Geoffrey Nderitu.
A neighbour who had gone to the home to help Ndumia harvest maize from her farm found the body in the house.
“The neighbour found all doors and on peeping into the house saw the body. She screamed attracting neighbours,” said a daughter to the deceased, Mary Wanjiku Karanja.
It is suspected the granny was killed on Sunday evening because she had not even milked her cow, a task she undertook every day at about six in the evening.
At least three elderly women in different parts of Central Kenya have been killed in a similar fashion since November last year. On Monday, a 95-year-old woman was raped and killed at her Kinangop farm by unknown people.
Last year, Mary Mundothi, an employee of the Nyandarua County government and Mary Nyambura Macharia aged 56 years were killed at different villages that are close to each other. Mundothi was killed in November and Nyambura in December 2019.
Rape and murder
Ndumia neighbour’s account of injuries on her body appear to resemble those of the killings witnessed in Ol Joroorok area of Nyandarua where the victims were raped before being murdered. The bodies also had deep head injuries inflicted by sharp objects.
Nobody has been arrested in connection with the Ol Joroorok killings but area police say that both cases are still active.
Yesterday, Laikipia County Commissioner, Daniel Nyamiti said one suspect in Ndumia’s killing, David Kanyi Wambugu, was in police custody.
Members of public tipped police that the 40 year-old suspect had hidden some of his cloths.
“The suspect was found hiding bloodied cloths and we have taken the cloths to government chemists to test if the blood matches that of the deceased,” Nyamiti said.
He said the suspect who was arrested yesterday is being held at the Nanyuki police headquarters after being briefly locked at the Jikaze Police Post. The body is lying at the Pope Benedict 16 Hospital in Nyahururu.
