Tattoo killing: Taxi driver arrested over killing of gospel singer Racheal Muthoni

Two days after Racheal Muthoni Wandeto succumbed to severe burns at Kenyatta National Hospital, police have made headway in unravelling the arson case.

A taxi driver, believed to have been a regular customer of Racheal, has been arrested. Josiah Njeru Njiri will be arraigned tomorrow.

His arrest comes just hours after human rights organisations called on the government to move with speed to stem cases of GBV and femicide that are on the rise across the country.

 “Reports from Amnesty International, April 2026, show that at least eight femicide cases are reported each week. That means that at least one woman or girl is killed every day in Kenya. Women aged 18 to 35 years old make up 59 per cent of all femicide cases nationally,” said FIDA board member Anita Byegon.

Racheal Muthoni, a vibrant gospel artist, died on Monday from severe burns after being doused in petrol and set ablaze.

Her death triggered protests on Wednesday as women marched from the Kenyatta National Hospital mortuary through the streets of Nairobi to the gates of Vigilance House, demanding justice and calling on police to stop treating the killing of women as mere statistics.

In her life, she wore her political convictions proudly, even tattooing an image of President William Ruto on her skin.

In death, that tattoo has become a lightning rod, threatening to drag her tragedy into political warfare as politicians exchange accusations over the motive behind her killing.

“What we have witnessed with Racheal's case is something that should not have happened in Kenya, in a democracy that is guided by the Constitution and laws that are passed by the republic,” said Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku.

Women's lobby group leader Irene Wairaria added, “We are not going to be silent maovu yakitawala. We are not going to stand here tuangalie wanawake wenzetu wakichomwa ama wakifanyiwa maovu.”

But away from the political grandstanding and social media exchanges sits a family devastated by grief.

Racheal’s family is refusing to let her memory be weaponised or hijacked by political factions.

“That is why the DCI is there. Online can say anything... if we take sides right now and investigations come out otherwise, as a family, we may feel unfortunate. We believe they will not leave any stone unturned and get the truth,” Susan Wandeto, the sister of the deceased, said.

Even with the arrest, the question remains whether this latest tragedy will finally force the declaration of a national crisis, or whether Racheal’s name will become another statistic in the growing list of women killed across the country.