24-year-old waitress mysteriously killed and dumped in hotel’s borehole

A waitress in one of the top hotels in Nanyuki who has been missing since Thursday evening has been found dead inside a borehole at the hotel. The body had a deep cut across the abdomen.

The 24-year-old Carol Nduta's body was discovered by police officers on Saturday dumped in a borehole at the three-star Sportsman’s Arms Hotel where she has worked as a waitress for the past four years.

Police sources said two people had been arrested for questioning as a probe into the death commences.

Her father, Paul Kariuki, said Nduta’s friend informed the family of her disappearance on Thursday last week.

“I was called by her friend from the hotel who informed me that she went missing on Thursday evening and I traveled from Limuru to follow it up,” said Kariuki.

Kariuki said the hotel’s management told them Nduta went missing but by Friday there were no sign of her whereabouts.

“I sought help from the CID to help us look for my daughter and on Saturday she was found dead in the hotel’s borehole with a deep cut on her belly," he added.

“She was cut from one side to the other and she was still in her fully work attire,” noted Mr Kariuki.

A source in the hotel and who is familiar with the investigations and operations at facility confirmed to the The Standard that Nduta was killed and dumped in a borehole inside the hotel.

He said they were prompted to look for her after the supervisor manning the station where Nduta was posted noticed that she was not at the club.

“The chief security officer mobilised a team of staff members to look for her they did not succeed until Saturday when her body was found and retrieved from the borehole,” said the manger.

He suspected that Nduta’s cruel death could have resulted from what is believed to be a love triangle with another woman who works as a steward in the hotel over a man who is a chef in the same hotel.

The woman who is identified as (Njeri) is said to be in a relationship with the chef (Mbugua) and she never wanted to see the deceased relate with her (Njeri) ‘boyfriend’.

A friend to the deceased who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity confirmed that her deceased friend was dating Mbugua when she was training at the hotel in 2013.

“When she was employed at the hotel after her attachment Mbugua wanted to date her although he was in a relationship with the other woman,” said the source who also works at the hotel.

She said wondered how was killed because she had seen her in the hotel on that day.

“Nduta had told me that Njeri had threatened to kill her. She had also threatened her in her house in Likii,” she added.

According to the father, the hotel showed them a footage captured in CCTV camera showing her daughter’s movements before she disappears.

The footage showed that Nduta left the club and walked out through the club’s back door in a manner that showed she was called by someone from outside.

He explained that the footage only captured her up to the door point.

“From there no one knows where she went or how she was killed and dumped in to the borehole because that was the last time she was seen in the hotels compound,” said the visibly emotional father.

In a spot check by The Standard, there is a Camera surveilling the area at the door through which Nduta is said to have left and the borehole is about 20 meters from the door.

The family wondered how their daughter was killed and dumped in a borehole but no one noticed or heard any screams.

“We have been here from Friday but none has spoken to us about the progress,” said Kariuki

When dialed, Nduta’s phone could ring but no one received it. It was traced at a bus terminus in Nanyuki town.

Efforts to spoke to the hotel’s Director Margaret Gitonga were futile as she did not answer calls neither did she respond to text messages.

Laikipia East OCPD Jame Kithuka also confirmed the incident but he declined to give more details as he was engaged somewhere.

“We are still interrogating people and two people have been arrested for over the same issue,” said Kithuka.