Crime partners buried in the same grave in Nyeri

Villagers at Warazo Jet in Kieni East, Nyeri County Wednesday witnessed a rare funeral as two suspected robbers were buried in the same grave.

Mr Joseph Ndung’u, 22, and Mr Waiganjo Kimondo, 24, were gunned down near Nyeri Town following a carjacking incident.

Police said the two — an uncle and a nephew — had carjacked and kidnapped a woman on her way home on Sunday night.

Villagers flocked to their home to witness the strange burial of the two young men.

Area chief Simon Wachira said burying the two in the same grave was a way of uniting the two suspected gangsters and that it would serve as a lesson for other young people who might be tempted to engage in crime.

“Because they chose to die by the bullet together, we are burying them in the same grave,” he said.

Mr Wachira said the two had become a threat to villagers.

“Since they were united in crime, they should be buried together,” said Mr Wachira.

SHOCK AND JOY

Mr John Kamau, a village elder, said the death of the two young men came as a shock but also brought a lot of joy to the community.

“They both started stealing and robbing people while they were in primary school and their death came as a joy to villagers,” he said.

According to a family member, Mr Kimondo was operating as a criminal in Nairobi before he was “deported to Nyeri two weeks ago”.

“Waiganjo  has escaped death several times until he came to Nyeri two weeks ago and joined  his  young uncle Ndung’u who was operating a boda boda in Nyeri town. They were both shot dead by  police ,” he said.

Mr Boniface Wanjohi, a former classmate of one of the young men, said the two were friends and used to steal from shops and houses together.

“As a community, we decided that because they died together, we will bury them together,” he said.

Burying two relatives in the same grave is not a common practice among the Kikuyu.

Mr Wachira said this was only done during the Mau Mau period when relatives involved in the fighting died together.