Police in Emuhaya, Vihiga county are investigating an incident where a 50-year-old man was beheaded by unknown people.
Emuhaya Deputy County Commissioner Chuk Masau while confirming the incident noted that Alfred Esilaba's decapitated body was found lying in a pool of blood after his brother checked on him when he failed to wake up.
"We feel sorry for the family of Esilaba. After failing to see him this morning, his brother went to check on him only to stumble on his headless body. His head has been chopped off and we don't know where it is. The police are investigating the motive behind the murder," he stated.
Masau asked Esilaba's killers to return his head regardless of their reason for committing the act.
"We are pleading with whoever decapitated Alfred Esilaba to drop the head somewhere regardless of whether this was a ritualistic murder or a criminal activity," Masua said.
He also urged residents to volunteer information to help officers arrest Esilaba's killers.
"We are appealing to members of the public to volunteer information to the police as we seek to establish the reason behind the killing," he stated.
Separate incident
Elsewhere in Nakuru, police are investigating the mystery surrounding the death of a 19-year-old first-year university student whose body was found at her boyfriend's house in Naka estate in Nakuru.
Nakuru County Criminal Investigations boss Anthony Sunguti told a local publication that Phyllis Jeptling's body was found decomposing at Ezra Kipkemboi's house on January 1, 2023.
At the time, the body was found lying on a bed facing downwards with blood oozing from the mouth, nose and ears.
“The decomposing body was discovered in the boyfriend’s house on January 1. Blood was oozing from the mouth, nose and ears. We are pursuing the suspect to aid in the investigations,” Sunguti stated.
The discovery was made after curious neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from Kipkemboi's house.
“There was a foul smell emanating from the house and so we alerted the police. The man was not around and we found it odd that there was a bad smell coming from his house,” one of the neighbours stated.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased may have been killed about five days ago. Police suspect that the deceased may have been murdered by her boyfriend before he escaped.
“The main suspect’s phone number is switched off and neighbours say he was last seen on December 26,” Sunguti added.
An autopsy conducted by Government pathologist Titus Ngulungu revealed she had died of strangulation.
“As a result of my examination, I formed the opinion that the cause of death was asphyxiation, caused by manual neck compression,” Ngulungu stated.
What happened before
A relative told police that the deceased, a student pursuing Maths and Biology at Karatina University, had travelled to Nakuru to visit her boyfriend who is a security guard on December 19.
This was after the deceased's parents sent her Ksh2,600 and asked her not to travel home.
“After they closed for the December holidays, Jepleting's parents sent her Khh2,600 and told her not to travel home. However, she decided to travel to Nakuru to spend the holiday with her boyfriend,” the deceased's relative stated.
“We have established that she travelled with her colleague but alighted in Nakuru City, saying she wanted to visit a relative. That is the last time her friend saw her,” the relative added.
Police recovered bloodstained bedding, clothes and the deceased's identification documents from the scene.
The body of the deceased was taken to a nearby morgue pending further investigations.
