Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Police in Murang’a county have exhumed the remains of a 70-year-old woman who was allegedly killed and buried in a shallow grave by her son.

The exhumation exercise was led by officers from the Homicide Department under the supervision of public officers on Wednesday.

The suspect, Samuel Mukiria, 45,  confessed to having committed the heinous act of killing his mother, Joyce Wanjiru, at Kirimahiga village in Mathioya.

Neighbours say Mukira, who is in police custody, has been mentally unstable for a while.

Formal report

He made the confessions on Friday after being confronted by the neighbours who had demanded to know the whereabouts of his mother, who had been reported missing.

His confession prompted the neighbours to make a formal report to the police.

Joel Njema, the family spokesperson, said they are devastated.

He also noted that obtaining a court order for exhumation has been sluggish thus delaying the exercise.

“The past few days have been tough for us because we could see the shallow grave but could not remove the body,” he said.

“We have planned to have a decent burial for our mother on Saturday as we wait for investigators to give us their findings,” he added.

Area chief Lawrence Munga said the suspect was arraigned in Kangema Law Court where he pleaded guilty.

He is set to appear in court in two weeks after undergoing a mental assessment test.