Were it not for the hawk-eyed police officers on patrol within Huruma, Nairobi, the murder of Joy Frida Munani would have turned mysterious, perhaps among the hundreds of unresolved murders.

The sinister plan of her husband John Kyama Wambua to dump her chopped remains before police accosted him coincidentally would have made it humanly impossible to punish him.

Mr Wambua had already dismembered Joy’s body and packed her pieces into a cement bag for disposal before he met police officers who randomly stopped him for inspection on his way to dispose some of her body parts including the torso.

The suspect was escorted back to his house where some other body parts were found under the bed.

He allegedly confessed they were his wife’s. He is suspected to have dumped some body parts before he was intercepted.

Corporal Kassim Yakub of the Starehe Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) told the court that some of Joy’s body parts that were not in the bag Mr Wambua was arrested with - and were not found under his bed - are still missing.

The DCI detectives believe that Mr Wambua had already dumped them.

“The respondent (Wambua) alleged that he found his wife (Joy) with another man and when they got to the house, an argument ensued that led him to commit the heinous act and later chopped the body in order to dispose it of,” stated Mr Yakub in an affidavit filed at the Milimani Law Courts.

During interrogation at the scene of crime, Mr Wambua reportedly confessed killing his wife and cutting her body into pieces. The DCI is now investigating the homicide to gather sufficient evidence against the culprit.  

The DCI obtained orders to detain Mr Wambua for 21 days to continue investigating Joy’s murder, including recovering her missing body parts, locating her family and postmortem to establish the cause of her death.

“In the meantime, investigations into the circumstances and facts surrounding the murder incident and involvement or otherwise of (Wambua) are incomplete as several key issues have not been covered,” stated Senior Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe.

The issues include informing Joy’s family in Kitui County who have not been made aware.

Interrogating and recording a comprehensive statement of the suspect to support the investigations team and arrest accomplices if any. Other parts to be done include postmortem of the deceased.

Mr Yakub said Mr Wambua is not safe outside police custody because the incident has irked members of the public and he is likely to be lynched if released.

The detective said one of the murder weapons has been recovered but there are others including a panga yet to be recovered.

Mr Shikwe remanded Mr Wambua at Ruaraka police station where the DCI will be carrying out investigations until February 17, 2025.