The slain Nyamira teacher whose mutilated body was found in a nurse's house could have been saved had police acted on the family's distress call, his family has said.
Family members moved mourners who gathered at Omorare Primary School grounds to tears afresh as they narrated the ordeals their kin, Ezekiel Nkere Gitangwa, 47, went through in the hands of his killers as police dismissed their distress call immediately he disappeared.
Nkere's elder brother James Maganda, who was the family's spokesman, told mourners that immediately they discovered their brother had gone missing, they rushed to the Nyamira Police Station and reported the matter but it was not handled with the urgency it deserved.
"We went to the police station and reported but they dismissed us that we were not supposed to report the disappearance of Mr Nkere until after 24 hours. We were beaten because our instincts drove us to believe there was something wrong happening to him at that particular time," Maganda said.
Maganda said it took the family's effort to activate the search for the missing teacher. He said a man who ferried Nkere on a motorcycle to the nurse's house volunteered information that led to the recovery of the body, but it was too late.
Nkere's younger brother Isaac Gitangwa claimed police had a hand in the escape of the suspects, among them a nurse in Nyamira County. The nurse is suspected to have killed Gitangwa alongside her boyfriend, a National Youth Service (NYS) officer. Both are in hiding.
Teachers, politicians and mourners at the funeral blamed the police for "chronic laxity in handling the murder case".
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) National Treasurer Kennedy Nyanwanda warned of a strike in Nyamira if the suspected killers are not arrested before schools re-open.
Nyamira MPs Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), Stephen Mogaka (West Mugirango), Patrick Osero (Borabu) and their Nakuru West Counterpart Joseph Arama joined hands to condemn the murder.
"Police should do their work and bring all the suspects before court. All we want for the family is justice," Arama said.
Mogaka accused police of laxity in dealing with recent murder cases in his West Mugirango Constituency saying there was a need for urgent action.
"It is only sad that most of such recent murder cases have happened in my area. Some of the most recent cases have gone unresolved for long," Mogaka said citing Gitangwa's case and that of Rangenyo Girls Principal Lydia Onyoni.
In response, Nyamira County Commissioner Michael Lesimaam apologized to the family.
"Yes, it is true that any person missing should be reported after 24 hours. I am sorry for the family that our policemen didn't carry the matter sensitively," Lesimaam said.
Gitangwa left behind a widow and four children.
