This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
Gruesome Killings in Moi's Bridge Town ¶
On the outskirts of Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties lies Moi's Bridge town, dominated by ageing silos that announce the town's identity to newcomers. However, beneath these towering structures, a dark reality has unfolded, leaving the community in shock and fear.
At least four young girls have been brutally murdered and their bodies dismembered within 500 meters of the area. The victims, aged between 10 and 13, were all under the care of struggling single mothers and were snatched away while walking alone in the backstreets of the town before being killed.
One of the victims, Stacy Nasibo Achieng, 10, was a Class Four pupil at Children Are People Academy. Her mother, Ms Sharon Sakwa, a single mother of two, had sent her to buy groceries on New Year's Eve in 2019. However, Stacy never returned, and her body was found the next day beside the railway track, raped and strangled.
Another victim, Lucy Wanjiru, 13, was found murdered in a thicket on February 15. Her mother, Ms Caroline Naliaka, had sent her to sell kale by the roadside, but she never returned. Her body was found with signs of rape and dismemberment.
Grace Njeri, 11, was also a victim of the gruesome killings. She was found dead in a thicket near River Nzoia on June 18, after a month-long search. Her mother, Ms Loice Muthoni, is now traumatised and too scared to even step out of her home.
The police are treating the cases separately, but the pattern of the killings could indicate the presence of a serial murderer. Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Abdirisak Jaldesa said police were pursuing various leads and that Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers had been dispatched to the area.
"There could be the possibility of a serial killer, but investigations will help us get a trajectory of these killings. We will not stop until we arrest those behind these killings," he said.
