This archive report was first published on 5 July 2020.
On July 1, 2020, a shocking discovery was made at the Athi River Police station in Machakos County: the bodies of two children, Alvina Mutheu and Henry Jacktone, were found in a car parked at the station.
The children, aged 3 and 4, had gone missing on June 11, and their parents had reported their disappearance to the police. However, in a bizarre twist, their bodies were discovered at the very place where their parents had reported their disappearance.
The car, a Toyota Belta, registration number KCT 510X, had been parked at the station since March 5, when it was involved in a road accident. Preliminary investigations showed that the car had not been broken into, and the keys were kept in a safe under the responsibility of officers on duty.
It is puzzling how someone accessed the car, put the bodies of the two children inside, and left without anyone noticing. Detectives have already questioned a number of officers from the station, and a search on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) system shows that the car is registered to a Ms Peris Ngugi.
The parents of the two children are also set to record fresh statements with the police. They claim they had received a number of calls from unknown people after their children disappeared, asking them for ransom. None of these claims were reported at the Athi River Police Station, apart from the fact that Alvina and Jacktone had disappeared.
Clifton Odhiambo, Jacktone's father, described the scene when the bodies were discovered: 'We only found skeletons and it was not easy to tell them apart.'
Athi River police boss Catherine Ringera said that the car had nothing inside when it was brought to the station, apart from a spare wheel and a wheel jack.
