Photo/Courtesy
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 29- Two men who have been missing were killed and their bodies taken to various morgues in Kiambu and Murang’a County.
The whereabouts of their friends, all men, is still unknown, with their fate also on the balance.
The four men were abducted in Kitengela on April 19, shortly after having lunch.
The four men are identified as Benjamin Amache Imbai 30, Elijah Obuong 35, Brian Oduor 36 and Jack Ochieng 37.
According to police records, the body of Obuong was found near Mukungai stream in Murang’a and taken to the local mortuary last week.
It was on April 20, a day after he went missing alongside his three other friends.
His body was identified by his brother, Michael Amollo on Thursday during an emotional event.
Police said they were notified by sand harvesters of a body stashed in a gunny bag under the bridge of Mukungai River along Murang’a-Iyego-Kangema Road on April 20 around 10 am.
The body has no visible injuries.
That of Imbai was also identified at the Thika Level Five Mortuary by his family and friends on Wednesday.
They identified the deceased using facial features (beard) and a tattoo.
The body had apparently been collected from a thicket in the area.
But who killed the two and why?
Detectives said they’re investigating ahead of a postmortem exercise to establish how they died.
The motive of the killings is also yet to be known.
A relative of Imbai said they were scared to even speak to the media following the incident.
The search for the other missing men was ongoing amid reports of more bodies being brought to Nyeri since Tuesday.
Efforts by the families of the other men to identify them are ongoing.
The four friends were abducted from outside Club Enkare in Kitengela where they had ordered drinks for lunch before they were seen leaving the joint at about 3pm.
Witnesses said they left towards the parking lot where their white Toyota Mark X of registration plate KCQ 715C was parked.
It is believed they were abudcted by professionals since there was no commotion.
Their car was found about 500 meters away from the parking lot of the restaurant.
Imbai lived in Athi River, Obuong in Kayole, Ochieng in Donholm and Oduor in Embakasi.
Imbai’s younger brother, Elvis Imbai said they found the whereabouts of the car from a Facebook post.
“Someone posted on Facebook that a car belonging to my brother’s friends had been parked near a club in Kitengela on April 20. When we got there we found three jackets on the back seat,” he stated.
It is at that point he alerted Kitengela police officers who towed the car to the station.
Police records showed Imbai had at least two pending criminal cases in court.
One case of robbery was pending at the Kibera Law Courts while another one was at Mavoko Law Courts.
Imbai had last year in January been arrested alongside six other men for being a member of a notorious gang which robbed a man of Sh900,000 in Buruburu estate.
The gang trailed their victim from KCB bank Buruburu branch, broke into his car that was parked at a parking lot and made away with the cash.
According to the DCI, the suspects executed the crime by posing as customers and joining the victim in window shopping for a car.
“The gang has been operating in major towns using different motor vehicles, some of which are hires and guided with fake number plates which are hired and guides with fake number plates,” the DCI said in a statement then.
Oduor’s wife Cathrine Atieno said she spoke with her husband a few minutes before his mobile phone went off.
“We spoke at around 1pm and he promised to be back on time for my hospital appointment. By 3 pm his phone was off. His friends were also out of reach. I knew something was wrong,” she said
Ochieng’s wife, Monica Wanjiru said her husband had financial struggles as a result of his firm collapsing. She said he sought to regain his financial footing through the meetings with his friends.
“He had been struggling financially but he was a hardworking honest man who gave us the first priority. Before he disappeared, he sent me Sh100 and promised to call later. I noticed his phone was off at 4 pm,” she stated.
Obuong’s mother Caroline said he had bought a four wheel drive vehicle which was involved in an accident from his grandmother’s proceeds.
“The car was declared a write off and he was in the process of buying another one,” she said.
Police said they were also investigating Oduor after a motorcycle he sold to a minor was involved in a fatal accident.
The mother of the minor was angry at Oduor over his move to sell her son the motorcycle that later caused an accident killing a pillion.
Police said they had established Oduor had three motorcycles and sold one of them to a minor a matter that came to the limelight when it was involved in an accident.
Officials said the parents’ of the minor were not aware of the developments.
They told police they didn’t know if indeed Oduor had sold or gifted the motorcycle to the minor in Embakasi where he lived.
Oduor was apparently arrested and booked in one of the city police stations but was released two weeks before his disappearance.
Caroline denied her son operated a car hire business, saying he was jobless.
She said her family sponsored his high end lifestyle from proceeds of relatives living abroad.
“My son used to live a high-end lifestyle and drive flashy cars but he was jobless. We as a family fund his lifestyle and cater for his bills. His grandmother who is abroad would send him enough money,” she said.
This is the latest incident of people, including suspects of crime being abducted and only for their bodies to be found in morgues.
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