By Dorothy Musyoka
The long-awaited day of reckoning has arrived for a murder suspect accused of killing his 63-year-old employer in Murang’a on September 22, 2022.
After more than 20 months in hiding, the affected family, who have endured immense grief while seeking justice for their loved one, may finally see their pleas answered.
The suspect Fred Cheluba Murunga is said to have worked as the deceased’s farmhand for one and half months at Karendi village in Kigumo, Murang’a County.
“Prior to going berserk and hacking his boss to death, Fred Cheluba Murunga (the suspect) worked as the deceased’s farmhand for one and a half months, staying at his home located at Kerandi village in Kigumo, Murang’a County,” the DCI explained.
According to the detlectives the report at Ngonda Police Station indicated that on the fateful morning, the suspect sent a 12-year-old grandchild of the late Mzee Paul Njuguna Kamau to a nearby shop, and while he was away, turned against his employer with a machete.
“The juvenile would only return moments later to find his grandfather locked up in the kitchen,crying in agonizing pain,” DCI said.
“Apparently, the rest of the family members were away, and the young boy had gone to visit the aged man to get him some breakfast,” DCI added.
The minor raised alarm, drawing the attention of the villagers who thronged the homestead.
The responders, along with the local police who had also been alerted to the incident, broke into the kitchen and discovered Mzee’s body, soaked in blood, stiff, and lifeless.
“ Beside him lay the suspected murder weapon, a machete,” stated the DCI.
“Enraged neighbours who bayed for Cheluba’s blood searched for him unsuccessfully. Not only was he missing, but so were the deceased’s motorcycle and mobile phone,” DCI reported.
Assuming control of the case, Kigumo DCI officers initiated a search for the farmhand suspected of the murder.
Early investigations indicated that the deceased’s motorbike and mobile phone had been sold in Eldoret.
As days went by, the affected family’s hope dwindled, but the detectives remained focused and kept the suspect under surveillance.
They also sought assistance from their colleagues at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Headquarters Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB).
Acting on crucial intelligence leads, CRIB detectives yesterday cornered the murder suspect at the premises of a security firm based in Ruiru, where he was seeking employment.