Rita Waeni Buried at Private Event in Makueni 

Slain Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student Rita Waeni Muendo was buried at her parents’ home in Mukimwani Village, Kisau location, Makueni County.

The family confirmed that Waeni was buried on Monday morning in a private ceremony attended only by family members.

“We are at peace because we know that our larger family, friends, colleagues and many Kenyans who have shared this loss will understand this decision,” said the family.

“We thank everyone for their support, contributions and for constantly praying for us.”

Waeni was murdered on January 13, 2024, at a short accommodation apartment in Roysambu area, Nairobi, where her body was dismembered by the suspected killer.

The main killer is yet to be arrested and the motive is not known.

The owner of the apartment, Risper Muthoni, revealed that the deceased’s perceived killer secured the room on Saturday, January 13 at 3 pm.

It was not until the next day that the discovery was made, after the caretaker reported finding suspicious polythene bags and a blood-soaked bed sheet on the staircase.

The family later came out to reveal that Waeni had left her aunt’s house in Syokimau to meet a friend.

Officers who visited the scene found the dismembered body without a head, which was later found in a dam in Kiambu.

The head was identified by the family on January 25 during an autopsy procedure conducted by Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor who stated that the findings indicated that Waeni died of strangulation before she was brutally dismembered by her killer.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) released Waeni’s body to her family on February 2, 2024.

This was after the DNA tests also confirmed the head recovered belonged to the fourth year student.