Detectives arrest man who hacked his employer to death with machete 6 weeks after resuming work

Detectives have arrested a man 20 months after he killed his employer in Murang’a County, Kenya.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) in a statement on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, said the suspect, Fred Cheluba Murunga, was arrested at the premises of a security firm in another town where he was seeking employment. 

According to the statement, Fred had only worked for the deceased for six weeks before he hacked him to death with a machete. 

“The proverbial fortieth day of a murder suspect believed to have slain his 63-year-old employer in Murang’a on 22nd September 2022 has finally dawned after over 20 months of holing up, a period that subjected the affected family to untold grief crying for justice for their kin,” the statement read.

“Prior to going berserk and hacking his boss to death, Fred Cheluba Murunga (the suspect) worked as the deceased’s farmhand for one and a half months, staying at his home located at Kerandi village in Kigumo, Murang’a County.

“The report booked at Ngonda Police Station indicated that on the fateful morning, the suspect sent a 12-year-old grandchild of the late Mzee Paul Njuguna Kamau to a nearby shop, and while he was away, turned against his employer with a machete.

“The juvenile would only return moments later to find his grandfather locked up in the kitchen, crying in agonizing pain. Apparently, the rest of the family members were away, and the young boy had gone to visit the aged man to get him some breakfast.

“The minor raised alarm, drawing the attention of the villagers who thronged the homestead. Jointly with the local police who had also learnt of the incident, the responders broke into the kitchen only to stumble upon Mzee’s body soaked in blood, stiff and lifeless. Beside him lay the suspected murder weapon, a machete.

“Enraged neighbours who bayed for Cheluba’s blood searched for him unsuccessfully. Not only was he missing, but so were the deceased’s motorcycle and mobile phone.

“Taking up the case, Kigumo DCI officers activated a manhunt for the killer farmhand, with preliminary investigations revealing that the deceased’s motorbike and mobile phone were sold out in Eldoret.

“With each passing day, the affected family’s hope tailed off, but the detectives maintained their focus and put the suspect on police radar, further seeking the intervention of their counterparts from DCI HQS Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB).

“Acting on crucial intelligence leads, CRIB detectives yesterday cornered the murder suspect at the premises of a security firm based in Ruiru, where he was seeking employment.”