The circumstances of the 19-year-old Mount Kenya University (MKU) student’s death remain shrouded in mystery after her body was discovered murdered in her rented residence in Pilot Estate, Hospital Ward in Thika.

Faith Musembi was 8-months pregnant.

Ms. Musembi a first-year student at MKU main campus, from Machakos was allegedly murdered after her assailants demanded a ransom of Ksh 20,000 from her parents.

Her lifeless body was discovered by her father Boniface Musembi in her rented room at Pilot Estate within Hospital Ward in Thika.

He told journalists on Friday that they received a call on Wednesday from an unknown individual demanding a ransom of Sh20,000 for the release of their daughter.

Caller demands

According to Mr Musembi, the caller demanded that the family cooperate failure to which Faith would be killed with her unborn child.

Mr Musembi said his wife then tried to engage the kidnapper who unfortunately maintained that Faith would be killed if the money was not sent.

“Her mother in response to the kidnapper through a text message said, ‘I command and speak protection upon my daughter in the mighty name of Jesus’, but the kidnapper replied saying, ‘Amen, fail to send the money and your command will be mere words,” said Mr Musembi.

The caller was using the deceased’s phone.

Father’s trail

Meanwhile, Mr Musembi said as he rushed to Thika Police station seeking urgent intervention, his wife in a desperate move sent the Sh20,000 as demanded hoping that her daughter would be released.

Faith Musembi

The police, however, brushed off Mr Musembi’s plea saying it would be a hoax orchestrated by the deceased, her acquaintances, or her romantic partner.

Dissatisfied with the response at the police station, Musembi went to MKU to seek help in finding the daughter.

It was already past midnight by then, which forced him to spend the night at the university.

Come Thursday morning, Musembi said he went to the house where his daughter was staying but found it locked with a padlock. He said he knocked and called out her name severally but there was no response.

He inquired from the neighbors on the whereabouts of her daughter in vain.

He went out and asked a vegetable vendor if she had seen her and was informed she had sold the deceased vegetables the previous day.

Police laxity 

Musembi went back to another police station where he reported the matter but said the officers again downplayed the ordeal as a trick usually staged by students whenever they want to siphon money from their parents or relatives.

It is from here that Mr Musembi took matters into his own hands and broke into the house only to find his daughter’s lifeless body on the floor.

“I blame Thika police officers of laxity, should they have acted swiftly, they’d have saved my daughter from her killers. Her phone which her suspected killers were using has not been switched off until now,” said an angry Musembi.

Joseph Kinaka, the deceased uncle said he had texted the girl’s phone on WhatsApp on Thursday morning and received a response demanding another ransom of Sh33,000.

“After engaging the individual, he sent me a photo of Faith, but after keenly looking at it, blood was oozing from her nose a clear indication that things were not okay,” Kinaka explained.

Autopsy results 

An autopsy conducted at Thika General Kago Funeral Home, where the body is lying indicated that Faith succumbed to excessive bleeding.

The report indicated that she had bleeding in the uterus caused by abruptial placenta (the placenta had detached itself leading to excessive bleeding).

The notice of the killing is yet to be known.

Musembi blamed the police for laxity saying that had they acted swiftly, they would have saved his daughter’s life.

Strangely, the phone that was being used by her suspected killers was still on, on Friday and even continued chatting with her relatives and friends who contacted her line on WhatsApp.

Thika Sub-County Police Commander Lawrence Muchangi said a dedicated team of detectives has been swiftly deployed to  Nairobi to hunt for the perpetrator of the crime.

Muchangi said the signal to her phone had been traced in Mathare area and the police are hopeful that the suspect(s) will be arrested.