Detectives probing the murder of NLC official Jennifer Wambua have shifted their focus to some Sh2 million that was withdrawn from her account two days before she went missing.
The money was sent to Wambua by her employer—the National Land Commission—to be used to pay suppliers of various goods and services.
The services were procured for the launch of a strategic plan for the commission. Wambua was the deputy director of communication at NLC when she was murdered.
She was in charge of the launch of the plan that was commissioned on March 5.
According to its 2021-26 strategic plan, NLC plans to spend Sh20.7 billion to among others promote good land governance, research on land and use of natural resources and provide redress to land disputes.
Detectives handling the case say a total of Sh2.7 million was sent to Wambua’s account by NLC. Some Sh2 million was withdrawn two days before she went missing.
The suppliers have told the police that they have not been paid.
The money is now part of the focus of the investigators who want to establish if Wambua’s murder has any links to the cash.
The officers are also focusing on the 58 calls that were made to her mobile phone days and hours before her death.
Among those who called her on the day of her death was her pastor who police say talked to her “for long.”
Wambua went missing on March 12 before her body was found dumped in Ngong Forest the following day. Police say they are investigating a murder incident.
She was buried on March 24 at her home in Machakos.
No arrest has been made so far but investigations into the incident are ongoing. The motive of the killing is yet to be established.
Some staff at NLC have been grilled as part of the probe. An autopsy showed Wambua was strangled with bare hands.
Her husband Joseph Komu was also questioned by police for two days.
It is not clear what police asked him to explain for the two days that he appeared before the detectives at the DCI headquarters. He told police the pastor in question was close to Wambua and had been “praying for her”.
Detectives say they are also analysing evidence collected from scenes of interest before they decide on a way forward. The evidence includes mobile phone data and CCTV footage.
Police believe Wambua was lured by someone known to her and trapped before she was killed.
She was supposed to be on a five-day leave from March 8 but showed up in the office on March 12, the day she went missing.
Wambua was a witness in a corruption case where Lugari MP Ayub Savula and 19 others have been charged with Sh122 million fraud at the Government Advertising Agency. There is no link so far between her murder and the case.
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