Police Probe Land Deal Linked to Murder of US-Based Kenyan Man and His Family in Kiambu

Detectives have opened a probe into a land deal linked to the murder of US-based nurse Nicholas Njoroge Warunge and his family.

Njoroge, his wife Anne Wanjiku, their son Christian Njenga (13), nephew Maxwell Njenga (13), and farmhand James Kinyanjui were killed by unknown assailants at their home in Kiambu County.

The lifeless body of 55-year-old Njoroge was found lying within his compound on Wednesday morning while his wife, kids, and nephew were found murdered inside their house in Karura village, Kiambaa. The dismembered body of their casual laborer had been found in a neighboring compound the previous day.

The whereabouts of Njoroge’s eldest son Lawrence, a university student, is yet to be established but police are said to have tracked his phone signal to Naivasha before it went off.

The Standard reports that investigators are looking into a land deal that Njoroge was negotiating days before he was killed in cold blood. They are also set to revisit the murder of Njoroge’s brother, who was shot dead in 2018.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Kiambu County Police Commander Ali Nuno said this was the fifth such incident in the family.

It is believed that the killers arrived at Njoroge’s home aboard a white Nissan Sunny saloon car and two motorbikes and there is no indication of forced entry hence the conclusion that they were known to the deceased persons.

The high perimeter wall with electric fencing was untouched, police said.

A blood trail shows that Njoroge may have tried to escape from the attackers, having jumped from his bedroom balcony and injuring his legs. “They caught up with him, overpowering him and dismembering his body at the gate,” a detective said.

Nuno said Njoroge was stabbed 34 times and his throat slit, but neighbors say they did not hear a cry for help from the family.

“We have not witnessed this kind of crime in the area for at least 10 years. It was not robbery because nothing appears to have been taken away,” Nuno said.

Njoroge arrived in the country on December 4th, 2020 to spend Christmas holidays with family.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Kenyatta University mortuary as investigations continue.