Catholic Priest Father John Maina from Nyandarua was brutally murdered, dying from multiple gunshot wounds.
A priest, a housekeeper and a friend of a murdered Catholic priest have been interviewed by detectives as investigations into his killing intensify, even as accounts of his last movements emerged.
The body of Fr John Maina of Igwamiti Catholic Parish in Nyandarua was found at Kikopey along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway on Thursday, May 15.
Homicide detectives from Nairobi have taken over the investigation, even as findings of a postmortem examination done on Monday are kept secret by church officials at the Catholic Diocese of Nyahururu.
Government pathologist, Dr Titus Ngulungu, addresses the media at a past event.
Dr Titus Ngulungu conducted the autopsy at Pope Benedict Hospital but declined to share findings, citing a directive by the Vicar-General of the Catholic Diocese of Nyahururu, Fr Timothy Maina.
The vicar-general reportedly asked the pathologist and the slain priest’s relatives not to discuss the postmortem report with the media.
"I am under instructions by the Father not to address the media. I am sorry I can't tell you anything about the report," said Dr Ngulungu.
The vicar-general who had promised to brief the media about the outcome changed his mind, saying he did not wish to discuss the murder.
"Postmortem was inconclusive, we are looking into the events that unfolded and how he ended up in Kikopey," said a detective.
Nation established that on Wednesday, May 14, Fr Maina drove from his residence at Igwamiti Catholic Parish to Mary Immaculate church in Nyahururu Town, some 15km away.
He parked the car there and walked out on foot.
Detectives privy to investigations said he told his colleagues he was walking to town to meet some people.
That was the last time he was seen alive.
Grim discovery
Nation learnt that the housekeeper told detectives the priest never returned home on Wednesday, May 14.
Fr Maina had informed the housekeeper that he was going to Nyahururu Town for a meeting.
His body was found by passersby at Kikopey, some 50km from his Igwamiti Catholic Parish, the following day, Thursday, May 15.
The car keys were in his pocket.
On the day his body was discovered, his aunt, Ms Susan Njambi, recalled that the priest didn’t answer her calls earlier in the day. She found that odd.
Slain Catholic Priest Father John Maina from Nyandarua.
“I was at Kinangop Mission Hospital, where his uncle was admitted. I was calling to update him about his uncle’s condition since he was the one paying the hospital bill. But calls went unanswered only for me to find out he’d been killed in Nakuru,” said Ms Njambi
“We want to know who killed him and why. We are saddened by the death of our son,” she added.
Police are investigating who Maina was meeting in Nyahururu Town, how he ended up at Kikopey without his car and whether the person(s) he met were responsible for his death.
The priest had hosted former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at the Igwamiti Catholic Parish a fortnight ago. Mr Gachagua was the chief guest during the church’s 25th anniversary celebration.
Questions have also been raised about the silence of the Catholic Church on the priest’s death.
At the time of going to press, Bishop Joseph Mbatia, in charge of the Catholic Diocese of Nyahururu, had not responded to our calls and text messages requesting official communication from the Church where Fr Maina worked until his death.
In an earlier interview, Gilgil Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Rahamad Wasilwa had said Fr Maina must have been killed elsewhere and the body dumped at Kikopey.
