70-yr-old woman found raped, murdered in Nyahururu slum

Shock gripped Maina slums in Nyahururu town on Sunday after residents found the body of a 70-year-old woman suspected to have been raped and then murdered.

The body of the granny, who lived alone, was found inside her house.

Emotions among relatives and residents ran high as police moved in to collect the body.

It is suspected that the granny, who sells firewood in the area, was raped before her assailants strangled her to death.

“We became suspicious when she remained indoors for longer than usual and on checking we found her body lying on the floor. We later noticed that there was a big hole behind her three-roomed timber house. We are yet to understand the motive behind the murder,” said Ms Purity Wangari, the granny’s neighbour.

PRELIMINARY PROBE

The local chief Mr Joseph Muraya said that there were indications that the woman was sexually abused before she was killed.

"Preliminary investigations by the police indicate the woman was sexually abused before she was murdered either by strangling or by being hit on the head," he said.

Nyahururu Assistant County Commissioner Julia Irungu said detectives have started investigations.

Ms Irungu has called on the public to volunteer information and work with the police so that those responsible can be arrested and prosecuted.

“The body of the woman has been taken to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital mortuary as detectives continue with investigations to arrest the culprits,” she added.

Local leaders led by nominated MCA Irene Wacuka have condemned the incident and want police to speed up their investigation.