Pilot killed over 50k debt
A paralysed pilot killed in his Karen home owed Sh50,000 to his former gardener, it can now be revealed.
One of the seven people arrested over the killing allegedly confessed that they had been hired by the worker to kill the pilot.
They were promised Sh170,000 to kill him, police said.
“We believe the gardener was behind his death,” said Lang’ata police chief Titus Yoma.
He went on: “He owed him Sh50,000 and callers were demanding a ransom of a similar amount. We launched investigations and arrested the young man who has since confessed.”
Pilot David Macharia, who was in poor health, was strangled with a wire and mutilated on February 28. Police said his body was dumped in a septic tank in his compound.
They added that the pilot had been having rows with the gardener over the money.
In spite of his failing health, the former Air Force pilot was living in the expansive compound with his two pet dogs only after sending his family away, NairobiNews established. He had separated from his first and second wives.
Mr Macharia was always sickly and at one point had become paralysed and admitted to Karen hospital. Upon discharge from the hospital, he discovered that documents relating to his properties had been tampered with.
It is then that he developed extreme animosity towards his immediate family and eventually threw them out, accusing them of plotting to steal his wealth.
“He changed suddenly. He even refused to speak to anybody. The only time he spoke to us was when he came to ask for a directory here,” said a worker at a nearby restaurant. Mr Macharia also had constant run-ins with his son, Brian Njokera. At one point, Mr Macharia had reported to Hardy Police Station that his son was harassing him and no longer wanted to live with him.
He claimed that the son had been “planted” in the house by his estranged wife to ensure that he did not reunite with his second wife with whom he had also separated a year earlier.
Mr Njokera, however, defended himself against his father’s accusations and claimed that Mr Macharia wanted him out of the home because he was forcing him to take his medication and attend routine check-ups at Karen hospital.
House in mess
“He had developed a serious medical problem that paralysed him. His son was the only person who could administer medicine to him. As a son, he had to keep watch over his ailing father,” said one police officer.
He exonerated Mr Njokera.
“They had differences but then we have no evidence pointing to Mr Njokera as the mastermind of his father’s death,” Mr Yoma said.
Police who arrived at the pilot’s home shortly after receiving a call directing them to the body said they found the house in a mess.
“It is like they were looking for something in the house,” an officer said.
Mr Macharia had acquired a lot of property in Nairobi and Njoro in Nakuru county.