Agony of family waiting for answers, months after kin's brutal murder

Brenda Gitonga and her grandmother Julia Nkaare at their Kambi Juu estate home on the outskirt of Isiolo town [Ali Abdi, Standard]

Today, young Brenda Gitonga could perhaps be cheerfully taking care of her father's dream project of constructing residential houses in a remote part of Meru County.

But that is not the case. Instead, into the fifth month, 23-year-old Brenda and some relatives is not only mourning the death of her father Steve Gitonga Ntari who was brutally murdered on July 3, 2025, but wondering why the probe seem to have stalled. 

The body of the 52-year-old was found dumped along a path, a few metres from where he was putting up one-bedroomed units. Not far from the construction site, was Gitonga's house where he lived with his second wife Doreen Mwenda.

The two plots, are located less than a kilometre apart with the construction site being on the Meru side at Maili Tatu area while the couple live at Mwangaza estate in Isiolo. 

Residents on the Meru side rely on Isiolo for provisions of most services like health care and commercial, due to proximity of the latter.

The death of Gitonga was reported at Maili Tatu police post in Tigania West via OB number 04/3/07/2025, the same day his body was found at around 6am, according to documents in our possession.

When the family received news of the death, their pain increased after it long for a postmortem to be conducted because the police 'lacked means' to travel to Isiolo County Teaching and Referral Hospital, about seven kilometres away. 

"The family had to facilitate the police to come to the hospital during the postmortem," says Nicholas Timwez, a younger brother to the deceased told the in a telephone interview with The Standard from Queensland in Australia, where he works at a hospital as a doctor.

Copy of the postmortem report that was conducted on July 14 revealed that Gitonga died as a result of strangulation and trauma caused by a blunt object on his forehead. Present during the autopsy exercise were Police Constable Kipyegon Kirui, Gerrad Gikunga his younger brother and Gitonga's second wife Doreen. 

Five months later, Brenda and her relatives are wondering why police have not been serious in investigation the murder. According to Brenda and uncles, the last time they interacted with investigators is when they recorded statements at the police post. 

Brenda last met her father on June 29, when she paid him a visit at the construction site, and the man was in an upbeat mood, showing no sign of distress or fear of his life. 

When the father remarried a second in 2018, Brenda moved away and went to live with her grandmother Julia Nkaare at Kambi Juu estate on the outskirt of Isiolo town. Her mother had died in 2016.

"My father had tasked me with the supervision of the construction, I would perhaps be the caretaker of the rental houses today," she moans. 

According to the family, despite police promising to update them on the progress of the probe, nothing is forthcoming.

The family, through Ongaro and Company Advocates of Nairobi wrote a complaint letter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi on July 9, raising concerns of lack of progress.

"There have been delays in the investigation process that have not been adequately communicated to our clients who have not received any update since the matter was first reported to the station," stated lawyer Kennedy Omwoyo.

Adding: "Our clients have safety concerns related to this matter, which necessitate immediate attention. We believe that a prompt reassignment will facilitate a more effective and unbiased investigation."

The family complains of lack of commitment, and follow-up for witness statements that were provided. They also want the probe transferred to another team, citing a potential conflict of interest by the investigation officer due to his non-cooperation. 

Despite the DCI headquarters promising to address the complaints within 14 days, the family is still in the dark.

"The DCI directs that you investigate the matter and forward a brief within 14 days upon receipt of this letter," reads a letter from DCI headquarters signed by Bernard Nyakwaka on July 11. 

"We are in the dark. I don't know whether to say the case has stalled or the investigation has not started. There is something fishy going on here," says Gikunga.

Lawyer Omwoyo who wants the matter handled by officers from the Isiolo side, questions why a key suspect retained the phone of the deceased with claims that messages were deleted. 

Further, the whereabouts of Doreen, Gitonga's second wife, is a concern to the family. It is being claimed the woman closed Gitonga's business and disappeared from the housing they were staying in at Mwangaza estate.