Rita Waeni and Other High Profile Crimes of 2024

2024 was characterised by several criminal activities that hit the headlines and caught the attention of many Kenyans.

From surging femicide cases to brutal murders that spotlighted the worrying trend of these crimes. Kenyans.co.ke takes a look at some of these heart-wrenching moments.

Mukuru Kwa Njenga Murder

In July this year, a somber mood engulfed the country following the shocking discovery of multiple mutilated bodies at an abandoned quarry in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Nairobi.

During a press briefing, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director General Mohamed Amin revealed that eight bodies were discovered in the abandoned strip pit.

The severely mutilated bodies were discovered rapped in several sacks and dumped at the centre of the quarry. The area was cordoned off and investigations conducted.

The murders came against the backdrop of the anti-finance bill 2024 protests that rocked the country in June. during the investigations, the police managed to arrest the prime suspect in the murder of the eight women.

Rebecca Cheptegei Murder 

The murder of marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei by her former boyfriend made the headlines for a better part of August and September. Cheptegei died after sustaining burns from being doused in acid by the estranged partner.

Despite being rushed to the hospital, Cheptegei passed away while receiving treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret at the age of 33 years.

Hardly a week after her death, Cheptegei’s husband similarly passed on while receiving treatment at the same facility.

Rita Waeni

Rita Waeni, a 20-year-old student at the Jomo Kenyatta Univerity of Science and Technology (JKUAT) was murdered and dismembered in a short-let apartment in Roysambu, Nairobi, on January 14.

In the killing that shocked the country, the dismembered body was found by the apartment’s caretaker stuffed inside polyethene bags.

Two men were later apprehended by the police following a series of investigations by homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). 

During the investigations, police seized several items including a knife that was suspected to have been used by the suspect to commit the murder.

Murder of Wells Fargo Manager

The murder of Wells Fargo Manager Willis Ayieko turns out to be one of the most puzzling and bizarre murder cases in the country this year.  Ayieko was reportedly murdered by assailants after attending a funeral in Nyamninia Village in Gem, Siaya County, on October 21. 

His killers would later dump his body at the border of Kakamega and Siaya counties with bruises all over the body particularly on the head and limbs.

Following the incident, detectives at the DCI launched a manhunt for the suspect, it was during the operation that several suspects were arrested while others were gunned down during the pursuit.

The first suspect was arrested a day after Ayekio’s body was recovered while the other suspects were shot dead on–route to another mission along the Kisumu-Luanda Highway.

Murder of 3 Eastleigh Family Members 

In yet another femicide case, three women including two daughters and their mother of Somali origin were in October brutally murdered after abduction by an assailant suspected to be an Ethiopian.

The trio reportedly disappeared on Monday, October 21 before their bodies were found lying along roads in Parklands, Bahati, and Machakos bearing similar injuries.

A probe conducted by homicide detectives from the DCI into the victims’ phones revealed that on the night of the abduction, the victims’ phones were pinged in Eastleigh for a short time before they proceeded to General Waruingi which is located within Nairobi. 

Detectives believed that the same assailants who dumped the body of one of the victims in Pangani proceeded to Bahati and Parklands estates where the same perpetrators also dumped the bodies of the other family members.