After more than 20 months of hiding, the murder suspect accused of killing his 63-year-old employer in Murang’a on September 22, 2022, has been arrested.
This long period of evasion has caused significant distress and grief for the victim’s family, who have been seeking justice for their loved one.
Fred Murunga was arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Tuesday June 11, 2024 at the premises of a security firm based in Ruiru, where he was seeking employment.
Murunga worked as the deceased’s farmhand for one and a half months, while staying at his home located at Kerandi village in Kigumo, Murang’a County.
“The report booked at Ngonda Police Station indicated that on the fateful morning, the suspect sent a 12-year-old grandchild of the late Mzee Paul Njuguna Kamau to a nearby shop, and while he was away, turned against his employer with a machete,” DCI reported.
The juvenile would only return moments later to find his grandfather locked up in the kitchen, crying in agonizing pain.
Apparently, the rest of the family members were away, and the young boy had gone to visit the aged man to get him some breakfast.
The minor raised alarm, drawing the attention of the villagers who thronged the homestead. Jointly with the local police who had also learnt of the incident, the responders broke into the kitchen only to stumble upon Mzee’s body soaked in blood.
Beside him lay the suspected murder weapon, a machete. Enraged neighbors who bayed for Murunga’s blood searched for him unsuccessfully.
The suspect had allegedly disappeared with the deceased’s motorcycle and mobile phone.
Taking up the case, Kigumo DCI officers activated manhunt for the killer farmhand, with preliminary investigations revealing that the deceased’s motorbike and mobile phone were sold out in Eldoret.
