By Grace Gilo
The investigation into the brutal murder of 44-year-old Rael Cherop Biwott, whose dismembered body parts were found scattered across Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties on June 24th and 27th, 2024, has been taken over by the DCI Homicide Directorate.
According to DCI, Rael Biwott, a mother of four, was reported missing by her husband a day after she failed to return home from work at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital on June 22nd, where she worked as a Senior Accountant Assistant in the billing section.
The husband, Francis Mwangi Ndirangu, who is the main suspect in the heinous crime, claimed that his wife disappeared after having breakfast with him on June 23rd, a statement that contradicted the accounts provided by his children and a co-accused.
Through their investigation, Homicide detectives working in collaboration with their Kapseret counterparts have determined that the deceased left her workplace with her husband shortly before 7 pm on June 22nd.
Despite the suspect’s claim that they boarded a matatu home, surveillance footage revealed that they departed in a Toyota Succeed hired by the husband.
The wife never made it back home.
Some of her dismembered body parts were later found in a sack near Kapsilegaa village in Nandi County on June 24th, while another set, including her head and upper limbs, was discovered near Lamaiywet village in Uasin Gishu County on the same day.
It was after this discovery that the husband made a missing person report at Eldoret Police Station at 6.40 pm.
Three days later, on June 27th, the remaining parts of Rael’s body, including her legs and internal organs, were discovered in a clear polythene bag beside a road at Mutwot village in Nandi County.
An autopsy conducted in the presence of the husband, other relatives, and two advocates revealed that the deceased had sustained severe neck injuries and blunt force trauma to the head.
The husband’s inconsistent statements, coupled with the substantial circumstantial evidence gathered so far, have raised suspicions regarding his involvement in the crime.
He was arrested alongside his suspected accomplice, and both have since been arraigned and custodial orders granted to the detectives to complete the investigation.
“Following the inconsistencies of the husband’s report to the overwhelming circumstantial evidence so far gathered implicating him, he was arrested alongside his suspected accomplice, and both have since been arraigned and custodial orders granted to the detectives to complete the investigation,” read the statement from DCI in part.
The matter will be mentioned at the Eldoret court on July 11, 2024.