"I've never seen anything like this," government pathologist on murder of Rita Waeni

Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor. [Kennedy Gachuhi, Standard]

Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor has expressed shock over the extreme cruelty inflicted on the body of Rita Waeni following a postmortem examination. 

Oduor, in an address on Friday, January 19, described the chilling status of the body of the murdered 20-year-old as the most shocking analysis he has done over time.

The pathologist revealed that the body had been dismembered with the head and legs being apart from the body.

“In my forensic life I have never come across such an incident,” Oduor told journalists in Nairobi. 

“Upon examining the body, I found that it was a young girl who had her body dismembered from the neck; the head was missing. There was also dismemberment of the body and both legs whereby someone cut the head of the femur so that the leg was apart from the trunk,” he continued. 

The pathologist implied that the perpetrator might have calculated his plans very well before committing the heinous act.

"The killer looked like he knew what he was doing because when you look at the skin, it looks like it was cut with a sharp object but the bone was sawed off with what looked like a hacksaw," he explained. 

Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor confirms Rita Waeni Muendo's other body parts intact, toxicology tests ordered due to alcohol presence.

Video by Fracis Odee pic.twitter.com/y87S2XjhU3 — The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) January 19, 2024

Oduor said that the body looked pale, a sign that the deceased had lost a lot of blood after death.

He also said that the perpetrator had clipped off the fingernails for unknown reasons.

“As a scientist, when you see fingernails clipped off, you probably think that the person is trying to hide evidence so that now we are unable to get DNA from this victim. The fingernails were clipped but some of them were still intact,” said Oduor. 

But, with a few nails remaining, the forensic team managed to take samples for further analysis. 

Alternatively, Oduor said that the forensic team might still manage to trace the suspect in case the victim managed to use some defence mechanisms.

From the examination, there were no signs of defense injuries but it further revealed that the body was intoxicated.

“We have taken samples for toxicology analysis. We could smell alcohol when we opened up the body but this will be confirmed by toxicology to establish if there was any drug or alcohol given and the amount,” he added.

The 20-year-old Waeni was murdered at a residential apartment in TRM Drive, Roysambu, and her body was found stuffed in a dumpster.

Kasarani DCIO Jimmy Kimaro told The Standard that investigations are ongoing, while the prime suspect remains at large.

Additional reporting by Francis Odee.