Nyamira man kills girlfriend, buries body in shallow grave days before both were to join university

Police in Nyamira are investigating a case in which a 22-year-old man is suspected of killing his girlfriend and burying her body at a quarry in Mang'ong'o, Nyamaiya area.

Bomanyanya Location Chief Livingston Mabuka said the body of Faith Kemunto, 20, was discovered after the suspect allegedly texted detectives to direct them to where he had buried the body.

He said the suspect used the deceased's phone to send a message to Kemunto's brother, requesting Sh500 on her behalf. The brother reportedly refused to send the money.

A day later, another message was sent from the same phone to inform detectives at Nyamira North Sub-County that "he had killed Kemunto".

The sender gave the directions to the shallow grave in a quarry used by locals to excavate murram for construction.

Chief Mabuka said Kemunto and her lover were preparing to enrol at Machakos University for Bachelor's degree programs.

The chief said on July 30, the suspect allegedly lured Kemunto to his home in Bondeka, about two kilometres from her home in Kanani Village.

"Reports we have indicated the boy called, asking her to visit his home around 5 pm. Shortly after, her phone went off, and she could not be reached," Mabuka said.

He added that Kemunto's mother opposed the visit to the boyfriend as it was late, but the daughter went anyway.

Detectives traced her phone signal to the suspect's home, where they recovered the deceased's shoes.

The suspect's mother was briefly arrested when the girl went missing, but was released after investigators found no direct link to the disappearance.

The suspect remains at large. "We are trying to close in on him," said a detective.

As of Wednesday evening, Kemunto's body remained in the shallow grave, awaiting exhumation.

County Commissioner Erastus Mbui confirmed that security agencies had sought court orders for the exhumation and postmortem examination.

"After confirming the body was buried there, we sealed and secured the area as a crime scene pending exhumation," Mabuka said.