The family of Kithome Malombe in Kitui county, Mutomo Sub-county, Ikanga location have been grieving the death of their daughter Lucia Kithome, for a year and three months now after her murder, and have refused to lay her to rest until justice is served.
Lucia was allegedly murdered by her then lover, Onesmus Kimuli with whom they had been having disagreements before the material day, August 23, 2017.
Things got worse when the lover, Mr Kimuli, decided to burn down business properties owned by Ms Lucia, demanding that she goes to stay at his home as a housewife, something Lucia was opposed to.
A fight ensued that saw the two lovebirds report the matter at Mbitini Police Station. According to family members who spoke to Kahawa Tungu, Lucia called home to say that they had resolved the matter, but did not explain how.
Later, the family learnt that Kimuli used his tricks to make Lucia withdraw a case that she had already acquired an assault P3, so that legal action could not be taken against him for burning down Lucia’s properties. He also robbed her of her phone so that she could not communicate home.
Sources intimate that Lucia’s family demanded that the matter be resolved by both parents which did not happen due to Kimuli’s ignorance to all counsels that Lucia’s father gave him.
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After Lucia withdrew the case out of her mercy and the fact that she did not want shame in her relationship, Kimuli triggered a journey to his home in the middle of the week, on August 22, 2017, at around 8 pm, which was not the norm to the two, who would go home during the weekends only.
Lucia’s sister, Carol Mwende smelt a rat and wanted her sister to abort the talks and go back home but Kimuli insisted that his parents would want to talk to her over something regarding their relationship.
“I wanted the talks to be between all the parents, but not from one side (Kimuli’s). I had doubts with the visit, because normally they would go home during the weekends, but this time it was midweek,” says Carol.
Lucia assured her sister that all would be well, and decided to go to the salon to make her hair. Unknown to Carol, this was the last time she would talk to her sister. Her phone went off, with calls to Mr Kimuli going unanswered.
When they finally reached him, reports had gone viral that Lucia had been murdered and her body laid at the morgue. Her lover would later say that Lucia was sick and admitted at the hospital, the same week they were supposed to be at home.
Despite things being clear that something was fishy and the family reporting at Mbitini Police Station, where Lucia and Kimuli had been reporting their disputes, the police have not taken any action and the prime suspect is still at large.
“When we reported at Mbitini Police Station the police rejected our case and sent us to Itoleka Police Station. At Itoleka, instead of arresting the guy the police called him (through the phone) instead of looking for him and arresting him since he is the key suspect of the murder. The man goes to work everyday and does not care whether his love is lying in the morgue or not, and the police do not care either. The police have not made any arrests so far in connection with the murder,” laments Carol.
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Postmortem reports from the government chemistry have taken forever, hoping that if something could be done to speed them up, the evidence could be enough to make the arrest, no matter what.
Her cousin, Cyprian Singi, who resides in Kitui town where Lucia was allegedly admitted says that at the time he visited her, she was already at the mortuary despite receiving reports that she was sick.
“The police were reluctant when we reported, saying there was no evidence,” says Singi, raising the question on whose duty it is to investigate and gather evidence. According to Singi, the police had already decided the fate of the case, before even attempting to investigate.
“The same day she was murdered is the day they were going home at 8pm, and by 10am, the following day, we received reports that she was dead,” adds Singi.
The family is now calling upon the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that justice is done to Lucia’s family and the murderer brought to book.
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