Decomposing body of taxi driver found with eyes gouged, partly buried in a pit.

The late Edward Mburu, the taxi driver who went missing on Friday night near Makongeni Estate Thika.

The decomposing body of Edward Mburu, the taxi driver who went missing on Friday night, was found at around 8pm on Wednesday in Nanga village, Gatanga Constituency Murang’a, partly buried in an abandoned pit latrine, about 300 metres from the home of the first suspect.

According to reports from the villagers, the body was first discovered by a shepherd in a nearby bush. He wrote a note which he pinned near a popular shop in the area where curious wananchi later saw it at around 8pm.

They mobilised some youth who went to the site and true to the word of the note, there was a body of a male adult that had been partly buried upright with only the head left hanging over the soil.

They called one of Mburu’s relatives who notified Makongeni Police and together, drove to the scene of crime.

Once the police arrived, the body of the deceased was exhumed and discovered to bear multiple head injuries, probably as a result of knife stabs. His eyes were also said to be gorged out and the body wrapped in an old canvas tent (chandarua) that is believed to be owned by the first suspect’s mother.

“Very many people here know that chandarua because it is what she (the first suspect’s mother) uses to dry her cereals,” explained one villager.

It is alleged that the first suspect and the mother are fond of visiting the area around that bush in search of firewood and grass for their family cow.

“They always go there for firewood and to cut grass to feed their cow. In fact, the firewood stored behind their house was cut from a tree that had fallen near the same site. They know the place so well,” added another villager.

Further revelations indicate that, on the material night, the mother and his son spent more than two hours outside in the dark before she came back to the house, probably ‘after completing their mission’.

Sources close to the family say that immediately the first suspect’s mother’s “guests” arrived that night, she dashed to open the gate but ordered the husband to stay back in the house.

The husband claims to have heard someone scream about three times but later all went silent.

After a while, the wife came and requested him to drive the vehicle into the compound, claiming that it belonged to his son. When he questioned who was that that screamed, the wife responded that the noises came from some drunk youth heading home after some drinking spree at the area local pub.

“The man claims that when he went to drive the car, he saw fresh blood stains inside and upon enquiring, his wife claimed that the son had accidentally injured his finger. He got suspicious due to the amount of blood in the vehicle and excused himself that he did not know how to drive an automatic car,” explained our sources.

Sensing danger, the husband is said to have sneaked back to the house and locked himself from inside.

His wife and son are alleged to have stayed out in the night for more than two hours before the wife knocked the door and asked to be allowed in.

During their stay outside, they called a neighbour, Joel Maina, (the second suspect) who is a driver by profession and asked him to drive the vehicle into the compound.

The following morning, the wife woke up early and went to burn some clothing, probably to conceal all the evidence.

When she later got wind that her son had been arrested, she fled home and went to hide at her daughter’s house in Kiganjo Thika. She is said to have later ran away to a relative’s home near Roosters Inn in Nairobi but then fled to an unknown place when she realised that she was being followed there.

She is still at large but police are holding the daughter for question as well as the two young men.

The mother to the second suspect was also called for questioning together with the father to the first suspect.

The body of the deceased has been taken to General Kago Funeral Home.