5 Questions Raised Over Death of Mombasa Taxi Driver who Went Missing

Family members of slain Victoria Mumbua Muloki, a taxi driver from Mombasa County, identified her body at the Nairobi City Mortuary.

The body was discovered after interrogation of a suspect who was found in possession of Mumbua’s stolen vehicle.

Victoria had been missing since September 27, 2024, and was booked at the Nairobi City Mortuary two days later by police officers from Lari in Kiambu County.

“We are still waiting for a postmortem. That’s my sister, she was killed 2 days later, and her body was booked as unknown at the city mortuary on September 29th by officers from Lari police station in Kiambu County,” said her brother.

“I don’t know how my sister was found at, and I don’t know what happened but it’s okay now she’s dead, I have confirmed. I need to know who killed my sister.”

Detectives from Mombasa, Nakuru, Lari and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) homicide detectives led by director Martin Nyabuto were at the city morgue to update the family on the progress of the investigation.

The main suspect Edwin Ng’etich, who was arrested in Nakuru while driving a vehicle belonging to Muloki, is currently being held at the Kilimani police station in Nairobi.

As the body of Victoria lies at the morgue, questions linger on how the mother of three traversed from Mombasa to Kiambu County where her body was found dumped in a thicket.

When did Victoria Mumbua Muloki go missing and under what circumstances?

The 35-year-old taxi driver went missing after accepting to transport clients for a long-distance trip from Mombasa to Samburu in Kwale, last Friday.

On the morning of September 25, she left her home at around 5:30 a.m. for the trip.

Her last known contact was a call she made from Samburu village in Kwale County. After this call, her phone was switched off and attempts to reach her throughout the day were unsuccessful.

Also Read: Family of Missing Taxi Driver Confirms Body Recovered by Police

The situation escalated when her car, a white Nissan Serena, was last tracked in the Kodiaga area of Kisumu, before its tracker was disabled.

Her family became more concerned when the vehicle’s location could no longer be traced.

Road safety advocacy group Sikika Road Safety then shared the news of Victoria’s disappearance on their Facebook page, urging the public to assist in locating her.

Her sibling also took to Instagram on September 29, 2024, pleading for help, revealing that the family had reported her missing after losing contact and that the family last heard from the mother of three at 4 p.m. on September 25.

She added that they were unable to trace her phone or car from that point on.

The disappearance prompted a police investigation, led by officers in Mombasa together with their DCI counterparts.

Where was the car belonging to the Mombasa taxi driver found and in whose possession?

Victoria’s mother had earlier reported her missing at the Makupa Police Station in Mombasa. As the investigation unfolded, police received information that the car had been spotted in Kisumu County.

Following the reports, detectives on Sunday arrested 33-year-old Edwin Ngetich Kipkemoi, who was found with a stolen vehicle which was later confirmed to be that of Mumbua.

He was intercepted at Pipeline Junction along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway while driving the white Nissan Serena with registration number KDQ 182F.

Ng’etich was apprehended while heading westward, alone in the vehicle, and without the owner of the car.

Contradicting police report- Was she found?

Police were on the spot after they erroneously indicated that Mumbua had been found alive but unconscious in Migori County.

However, it later emerged that this was not the case, with her family saying they had not been notified.

NPS Spokesperson Dr Resila Onyango had confirmed that Muloki was injured and unconscious near Uriri dam in Migori County.

“We found her unconscious near the embankment of Uriri dam and with serious injuries in both the head and hands,” she said.

She added that the slain taxi driver had been evacuated to a local facility for treatment and that her family members had been notified of the same.

However, by 3pm on Tuesday, neither the family nor the media had received any updates on the driver’s whereabouts. 

It later emerged that both the police headquarters and Muloki’s family in Mombasa may have been duped by unknown people.

Who conned Muloki’s family?

Victoria’s family made the revelation of being duped while dismissing claims by Dr. Resila Onyango, which stated that their kin had been found unconscious in Migori.

Muloki’s mother Anne Kanini on Monday told Nation that they received information that she had been found and plans were being made to airlift her to Mombasa.

The mother added that they had sent Ksh20,000 to someone in Migori who had told them that the money would help facilitate airlifting her daughter to Mombasa.

She however said that the family members were yet to be informed of her daughter’s whereabouts by Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m planning to go to the regional police headquarters so that I can be updated,” Kanini said in a phone call.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday outside the Nakuru court, Mumbua’s niece Mbithe Muigai expressed surprise at the reports attributed to police that her aunt had been airlifted for treatment.

Also Read: Fresh Details of Missing Taxi Driver Emerge

Muigai confirmed that on Monday evening, someone called her aunt’s pastor in Mombasa, claiming to be an officer from Migori, and demanded Ksh20,000.

The caller alleged that Muloki had been found unconscious and in critical condition, and the money was needed for her to be airlifted to Mombasa.

After receiving the cash, the caller switched off the phone, leading to confusion as the report attributed to the police spread that Muloki had been located.

Where was her body found?

Following the confusion, DCI detectives on Wednesday, October 2 evening stumbled on a human body believed to be that of the missing taxi driver.

Officers probing the disappearance said they discovered a human body believed to be that of Mumbua, at the Nairobi City Mortuary.

The female body was discovered at the city morgue after an intense grilling session with the main suspect in the case who was found in possession of a stolen motor vehicle belonging to the mother of three.

Behind the discovery were Criminal Intelligence and Research Bureau detectives who were profiling the suspect.

Investigations revealed that the female body had been found in a thicket within Mai Mahiu next to a road in Lari, Kiambu County.

Police were notified Following the discovery and the body was taken to the city morgue where it was booked on the 29th of September 2024, as unknown.

The taxi driver’s family back in Mombasa was notified of the discovery, with the family members traveling to Nairobi to conduct further identification processes, among them DNA profiling.

This is as police plan for a postmortem examination to know the course of the death. The motive of the incident remains unknown for now.

The case has since been transferred and taken over by the homicide department of DCI headquarters.

Meanwhile, records have revealed that before the Mombasa based tax driver went missing, the main suspect in the case had committed similar offenses.

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