Family seeks justice after 7-year-old daughter murdered, body burnt in Mukuru

A family in Nairobi’s Mukuru kwa Njenga estate is in pain following the brutal murder of their seven-year-old daughter.

Seven-year-old Jedida Mwende, a Grade One pupil, disappeared on July 11, only for her body to be found murdered and burnt beyond recognition along Maasai Road in Embakasi.

For the past month, family members and neighbours have gathered in Riara slums within Mukuru kwa Njenga, holding daily services, not just for comfort, but in the hope that Jedida would return home safely.

Jedida’s mother, Hellen Kemunto, claims she reported her daughter’s disappearance on July 11 to Villa Police Station, but received no assistance.

She alleged that officers denied her an O.B. number, leaving her without an official record of the report to date.

According to Kemunto, officers later called her back and showed her a photograph of a young body recovered along Maasai Road in Embakasi before directing her to the City Mortuary.

“Kufunguliwa nikaona mwili, nikaona kitambaa alikuwa nayo, nikajua tu huyu ni mtoto wangu," Kemunto stated. 

She cannot bury the remains of her daughter after her ex-husband disputed that the recovered body was that of their daughter.

Jedida was the only child Kemunto had with her ex-husband, Munyau Mbituka, following their divorce after nine years of marriage.

“Tukaambiwa tunaenda KNH kufanya DNA na postmortem ifanyike," she added. 

Meanwhile, the murder investigation has stalled for more than a month, with Embakasi Police Station saying officers are still piecing together information as part of the probe.

A distraught Kemunto is demanding answers over the brutal murder of her daughter, even as she appeals to authorities to release the delayed DNA results so she can finally bury her child and pursue justice.

But the burning question remains: Why, more than a month later, has no one been arrested in connection with the murder?