Pastor arrested in family’s death case
A woman suspected to have been in constant communication with Mr Paul Magu just before, during and after he allegedly murdered his family members was on Tuesday arraigned at the Kiambu Law Courts.
Pastor Anne Wambui Wanyoro, police say, could have crucial leads that will help resolve the mysterious death of Mr Magu, his wife Lydia and their child Tiffany as well as the whereabouts of the couple’s two missing boys.
She is said to have been running a ministry affiliated to a Nigerian Pastor together with Mr Magu who quit his job as a lawyer four years ago.
VISITED NIGERIA
Mr Magu’s passport, which was found in his house moments after his body was discovered along the Thika- Garrissa Highway, indicated that he had visited Nigeria on several occasions.
Inside the house too, a room that he used as a shrine was discovered, where relatives and the house help said he spent most of his time with Ms Wanyoro.
The room had several spiritual materials that included teachings on curses, misery and wealth. They included CDs and books.
He had also written a suicide note stating: “I cannot live a life of ridicule and embarrassment. Let it be.”
On Tuesday, the court allowed the police to detain Ms Wanyoro at the Muthaiga Police Station for two weeks as they carry out investigations into the murders.
In an affidavit, the Criminal Investigation Officer Maxwell Otieno, told the court that Mr Magu had under unclear circumstances, intended to transfer ownership of some of his property to Ms Wanyoro in a will deposited through his lawyer, John Ochola Odhiambo..
CULT RITUALS
“For a period of four days between November 16 and November 19, the suspect Ann Wambui Nyoro stayed in the house of Mr Magu and performed what was described by the house help as cultist rituals,” Mr Otieno, who is attached to the CID headquarters’ Serious Crime Section, said in the affidavit.
He said even after the murder of Mrs Magu on Sunday, Ms Wanyoro spent time with the deceased severally and the two even visited several places together.
The suspect did not plead as the magistrate Catherine Oluoch granted the police the permission to detain her for fourteen days.
On Saturday, when we met Ms Wanyoro at the Thika Police Station, she said that she had known the family since 2007 and she was not emotionally ready to speak to the press.
Mr Magu’s brother, Andrew Muhiu said his brother, who was an advocate by profession, stopped practicing four years ago to focus on his spiritual being.
“He used to own cars, houses and several other businesses but with time, he sold them. He started staying away from family and friends and just spent time with Pastor Anne,” Mr Muhiu said.
Mr Magu was hit by a bus that was heading to Nairobi from Garissa. The driver of the bus said that the deceased crossed the road when he bus was already too near.
DISMEMBERED BODY
At the time of the accident, police said, he had left his car at the side of the road, with the engine running. The deceased had a white jerry can in his hands when he was knocked down by the bus.
Inside the car that was facing the direction to Thika, detectives found the jackets of the three children, lunch boxes and a key.
A badly dismembered body of Mr Magu’s wife Lydia had on the previous Sunday been found at a thicket near the Paradise Lost getaway in Kiambu. Police records indicate that the body was dropped on Sunday night by two people.