Grief has engulfed residents of Taragonik village in Molo, Nakuru County, after a retired teacher and her husband were brutally killed by a farmhand who later dumped their bodies in a manhole inside their compound.
The retired teacher was reportedly abused for several hours before she was killed by the suspect.
The victims were identified as Pastor Pius Machogu Nyantika, 72, a retired accountant and preacher of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and his wife Jerusha Kwamboka Machogu, 70, a retired teacher.
Police have arrested the farm worker, who is the main suspect in the killings.
Area police commander Timon Odingo confirmed that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have taken over the case as investigations continue.
According to the couple’s daughter, Doreen Machogu, her mother’s body was retrieved on Sunday night, while her father’s body was recovered on Monday morning after the water level in the manhole had risen.
She said her father had deep cuts on the forehead believed to have been caused by a sharp object.
Doreen recalled that her last conversation with her mother took place around 4 p.m. on Saturday.
She said her mother had mentioned that the housegirl, who had worked with them for only two months, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
She added that tension had been growing between the farmhand and the house help, who was reportedly pregnant.
Doreen explained that on Friday night, her parents had tried to reconcile the two employees after a quarrel, but by Saturday morning, the house help was missing.
Neighbours later became suspicious when they noticed livestock grazing unattended and calls to the couple went unanswered.
One resident said they jumped over the wall and found the farmhand inside the compound.
The bodies were later discovered in the manhole and moved to Elburgon Sub-County Hospital mortuary as investigations continue.
Police are still searching for the missing house help, whose role in the incident remains unclear.
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