Detectives are investigating the discovery of the decomposing body of an unidentified woman, which was found inside a man-made water reservoir behind hostels at Daystar University in Athi River, Machakos county.
The body was discovered on Saturday, September 5, 2026, after a caretaker at the hostels within the university reported the presence of a lifeless person in the water reservoir.
Police officers rushed to the scene.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the body belonged to an unidentified adult woman and had apparently been forced through the rear window of a hostel room.
The room was reportedly associated with a former occupant who is said to have vacated it about a month ago, police said.
Investigators found blood stains on the walls of the room, while panes of the rear window had been broken, raising suspicion that the woman may have been killed before her body was disposed of in the reservoir.
Crime Scene Investigation officers from Kitengela processed the scene before the decomposing body was retrieved from the water.
The remains were moved to the Machakos Level Five Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination and identification.
A crowd gathered at the scene as the team removed the body.
Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death and disposal of her body, including establishing her identity and tracing the circumstances that led to her being taken into the hostel room.
The motive was also not known, police said on Sunday amid investigations.
The incident left many who have been using the water disgusted.
In a different incident, a two-year-old child drowned after falling into an open borehole while playing with two other children at a coffee farm in Gachocho, Kigumo Subcounty, Murang’a county.
The incident happened on Saturday, September 5, 2026, in a coffee farm approximately 50 metres from the child’s homestead.
The child had been playing with two other children when he accidentally fell into the borehole.
Local members of the public attempted to rescue the child, but the efforts came too late as the child had already drowned.
Police suspect that the borehole’s top cover had accidentally been left open, creating a danger to the children playing nearby.
The body was retrieved from the borehole and the scene was processed and documented by investigators.
Police said the body had no visible injuries and was moved to Kigumo Level IV Hospital mortuary, where it was preserved pending a post-mortem examination.
