A murder that is too chilling… Kenyans won’t easily forget

Chopped legs, raped, her private parts mutilated, disfigured arm and a torn abdomen: 21-year-old Emmah Wanyota’s killing would patently pass for an extremely disturbing horror movie.

Wanyota, a student at Vera Beauty College in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, was on Monday, September 30, allegedly killed by her spurned lover, identified only as Mustafa.

The only “mistake” that Wanyota committed, was that she rejected Mustafa’s marriage proposal.

It all began a few minutes to 6pm Monday, when Mustafa arrived at Wanyota’s parents’ house at Meja Village in Moi’s Bridge, a far-flung area located on the borders of Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties.

Wanyota was alone, when Mustafa stormed the house with a blunt object and struck her so hard in the head. At the time of the attack, the two had already separated as girlfriend and boyfriend.

People close to the couple said the ex-lovebirds’ unremitting relationship had soured to the point they couldn’t see eye to eye.

After smashing a blunt object against his helpless lover’s skull, Mustafa allegedly raped Wanyota before chopping off her two legs and one of her arms. He allegedly also cut off the girl’s genitals.

He, thereafter, took off and dumped Wanyota’s torso, legs and arm in a Napier grass plantation located a few meters from Wanyota’s parents’ home. All this happened between 6pm and 7:30pm.

Wanyota’s mother, Beatrice Luseno, said she had left her girl in the house, and left for Moi’s Bridge Township, where she runs her business.

“When I got back home, I did not find my daughter in the house. I, however, found my living room in a total mess; blood was splattered all over. I also saw my daughter’s underwear, which was soaked in blood,” Luseno told K24 Digital.

In shock, anguish and confusion, Luseno went and reported the incident at the nearby police station.

Police officers who arrived at the scene of crime, combed the house and the neighbouring Napier grass plantation, where they found Wanyota’s body in an unsightly state: her abdomen was split open, blood was gushing from all the joints that had been severed, and she lay lifeless.

Wanyota’s legs and arm were found a few meters from where the body was.

Luseno told K24 Digital that a few days to the shocking incident, Mustafa had vowed to kill her daughter.

“There was a time he called my girl on phone, and threatened to kill her. I did not take his threats seriously,” said Luseno.

The distraught mother says her daughter had, in the recent past, rejected Mustafa’s marriage proposal, leading to his constant threats directed at the beauty and cosmetics student.

It is reported this is the second murder incident Mustafa is alleged to have committed in recent times.

Police say they found the suspect in possession of the victim’s phone and laptop.

Mustafa, 31, is being held at Moi’s Bridge Police Station as investigations continue.

The deceased was taken to Kitale County Referral Hospital mortuary in Trans Nzoia County.

Wanyota, who has a twin sister who lives in Kitui, was scheduled to complete her studies at Vera Beauty College in November 2019, and graduate a month later.