This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
On October 26, 2019, a family of three went missing under unclear circumstances. The three, Joyce Syombua, 31, and her children Shanice Maua, 10, and Prince Michael, 5, would later be found dead.
According to family and friends, Joyce had taken their two children to the Laikipia Airbase to celebrate her oldest daughter's birthday. However, the celebration turned out to be a deadly trap.
Elizabeth Malombe, Syombua's mother, claimed that the relationship between Joyce and her estranged husband, Major Peter Mugure, was rocky. Mugure's relatives had not accepted the union, and the couple had been experiencing tough times.
Major Mugure had asked Joyce to bring the kids to the airbase, where they would celebrate their daughter's 11th birthday. However, in a text message to her friend Syombua Kateng'u, Joyce wrote that when she called Mugure, he said he was taking them on a tour of the facility and would be back. He would later return without them.
At about 7pm, Kateng'u called Syombua, who told her the children were yet to return and that Mugure had stepped out. This would be the last time the family of three would be heard from ever again.
Twenty days later, the three bodies were found buried in a shallow grave after Major Mugure led detectives to the site.
Friends and family say the marriage had seen tough times, with Mugure denying being the father to the youngest child, leading to Joyce seeking legal intervention for child support. This could have triggered Mugure's alleged actions.
Homicide detectives are now finalising the investigations at the Laikipia Airbase to prosecute all suspects linked to the murder.
