9-day search for woman who went missing on New Year ends in discovery of her body in shallow grave

Police are investigating the circumstances in which a mother-of-three, who worked at a flower farm in Naivasha, was killed and her body buried in a shallow grave in Karagita Estate.

Nancy Wangui, 32, went missing on January 1, 2020 after she left home for work at 4:30am.

And after a 9-day search for Wangui, her badly-mutilated body was on Thursday evening (January 9) found buried in a shallow grave a few meters from the Moi South Lake Road.

One of her eyes had been gouged out, and one of her legs chopped off.

Police suspect that Wangui was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Wangui’s brother, Antony Mburu, told K24 Digital that they filed a missing person’s report after she failed to return home the following day.

“We went to where she worked, and were told that she hadn’t been seen since December 31,” said Mburu.

The grieving brother said that on Thursday evening police told them they had received reports that the body of a middle-aged woman was suspected to have been buried at Karagita.

Mburu, his other siblings and family members accompanied police to the scene, where they exhumed the grave and retrieved Wangui’s body.

“It is so painful to lose a sister in such a brutal manner,” Wangui’s younger brother, Stephen Mburu, said.

Mohamed Were, an elder in the locality, said there is need to review the time flower farm workers are expected to report for duty, observing that “4:30am is too early and could pose a risk to one’s safety”.

“This road is in deplorable state. It is therefore a daunting task for farm workers, who report to the stations as early as 5am, to get transport at that time,” said Mohamed.

Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru confirmed the incident, saying they have launched investigations into Wangui’s killing.

“We are yet to make arrests, but will actively pursue the matter to its conclusion,” Waweru told K24 Digital.

Wangui's body was taken to Naivasha Sub-County Hospital morgue.