Gladys Chania, a Kiambu politician whose husband was murdered and his body dumped in Kieni Forest in Gatundu North, was apprehended by police on Friday, October 14.
Kiambu Police Commander Perminus Kioi confirmed the arrest, saying that Chania is now the prime suspect in the murder of her husband, George Mwangi, because her police reports do not add up.
Mwangi’s body was discovered in the said forest on Wednesday, October 12 evening, wrapped in a polythene bag.
Mwangi, 58, went missing from their home in Mangu, Kiambu, on Sunday, October 9 morning, according to Chania. She filed a missing person’s report at Kamwangi Police Station, then at Mwea Police Station.
However, police are now investigating the possibility that Mwangi was murdered in their home before being dumped in the forest.
The following is a verbatim statement issued by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) regarding the murder case:
Gladys Chania, a politician who ran unsuccessfully for the Kiambu Woman Representative seat in the last general elections, has been arrested as the main suspect in the death of her husband, engineer George Mwangi.
Gladys is thought to have planned her husband’s murder after discovering that the father of their three children was having an affair with another woman.
In a two-part series pieced together by the DCI Communications team, the deceased’s wife is suspected of committing cold-blooded murder with the help of a newly hired casual laborer and other accomplices.
George Mwangi returned to the country on September 13 from Rwanda, where he works as a contractor. The deceased, an astute businessman with real estate interests, had three children with the main suspect, with whom he had been married for over 20 years.
However, according to multiple sources, their marriage appeared to be in trouble because the woman spent most of her time at their Thika home while Mwangi stayed at the magnificent 5-bedroomed Mang’u residence whenever he was in the country.
Late last year, a woman named Lucy Muthoni was looking for a rental house when she met the deceased during one of his visits. He offered him one of his rental houses next to his house, and their relationship evolved from that of a landlord and tenant to that of Romeo and Juliet.
Their love affair was no longer a secret because every time the deceased returned home, he was seen with the woman at local entertainment establishments and other social gatherings. According to some family members, the deceased introduced Lucy to his family as his second wife, and she was well known to the extended family.
Lucy had accompanied the deceased to a family function in Kimunyu on the fateful day of the murder, where the main suspect was also present. According to eyewitnesses, Lucy was driving the deceased’s double cabin truck, registration number KBY 849M, after the function, and they returned to Mang’u.
When she arrived, she parked the car and went home, while the deceased went to his house. The primary suspect had arrived earlier and was still inside the house when the two arrived. That was the last time the deceased was seen alive until his decomposing remains were discovered by suspicious casual laborers in Kiamunyeki tea farms in Kieni forest.
Lucy told detectives that they had agreed to go out on a date the next day, but when he did not call her at the agreed upon time, she asked two of his friends to call him on her behalf and inform him that it was about time, but the friends were informed by the main suspect that the deceased had gone for a walk and had left his phone behind. Lucy had avoided calling the deceased when his wife was present, allegedly because she had given her a thorough dress down on one occasion.
According to the main suspect, Gladys Chania, the deceased left the house on foot on Sunday at 10 a.m., leaving his mobile phone behind, and never returned, prompting her to file a missing person’s report at Mwea Police Station on Tuesday, September 11 at 8 p.m.
However, on the same day she filed her report, eyewitnesses reported seeing a woman driving the deceased’s vehicle towards Kiamunyaka center, where it developed a flat tyre and was repaired. According to the mechanic who fixed the tyre, the woman asked for directions to Naivasha and took off after being directed.
Another witness, who works at a tea collection point in Kiamunyaka, remembered seeing a fast moving pick-up truck driven by a woman around 3pm, with a load protruding at the back. She flagged down the vehicle and asked the driver to slow down because her luggage appeared to be falling from the vehicle. However, the vehicle accelerated towards Kieni Forest, where the body was discovered the next day wrapped in black polythene beneath a heap of cartons and empty cement bags. The main suspect made a missing person’s report after the body was dumped, around 8 p.m., via phone call.
The detectives investigating the heinous murder also discovered that the woman had hired a new employee, Morris Kamau, on the eve of the murder after their previous employee, John Mwangi, who had worked at the home for four years, allegedly failed to return home after being sent to deposit some money on Mpesa. His whereabouts are still unknown.
The newly hired employee, who is also a suspect in the murder, told detectives that on the day the deceased’s body was discovered, the main suspect asked him to assist her in carrying a heavy load destined for the airport to the truck’s back cabin.
Gladys Chania was arrested last evening while driving her late husband’s pick-up truck, which was spotted heading towards Kieni forest. A preliminary examination of the truck revealed blood stains on the cabin floor, manila ropes, and empty cement bags similar to those discovered covering the body at the scene.
Detectives from the Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau, Homicide department, Forensic Crime Scene and Photographic units concluded today that George Mwangi was murdered in his bedroom on the top floor of his house before his body was dumped at Kieni forest.
The exhibits recovered in the house by the sleuths from the DCI National Forensic Laboratory included blood-stained metal rods, blood-soaked bed sheets, stained curtains, and clothing.
So far, three suspects linked to the murder have been apprehended and are assisting detectives with their investigations.
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