The murder of Seth Nyakio Njeri is a tragedy that has etched itself into the collective memory of Kenyans as a symbol of the fight against femicide. Seth, a 23-year-old mass communication graduate from Zetech University, was a young woman of boundless potential.
She was the only child of Lucy Njeri Moniki, a nominated member of the County Assembly (MCA) in Kirinyaga County. In a country where the home and friendship circles are assumed to be sanctuaries, her brutal killing in a friend’s apartment shattered that illusion, sparking a national outcry that lasted over a year.
The Fatal Disappearance
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, Seth left her family home in Kamakis, Ruiru, in high spirits. She told her mother she was heading to Thika to visit her friend, Phoebe Muende, a student at a local university.
Throughout the weekend, Seth Nyakio remained in constant contact with her mother, even sending photos of herself swimming and enjoying the company of friends.
However, the jovial updates ceased abruptly on Sunday evening. Calls went unanswered, and messages remained unread. On Monday, October 14, the horrifying truth emerged. Seth’s lifeless body was discovered in Phoebe’s rented apartment in the Biafra Estate, Thika.
A post-mortem examination later confirmed the grim details: Seth Nyakio had been sexually assaulted and died from manual strangulation. Bruises on her neck, cheeks, and thighs told a silent story of a young woman who fought desperately for her life against a monster she likely knew.
The Manhunt for “Sultan”
The primary suspect was identified almost immediately as Ken Kimathi Gichunuku, popularly known by the alias “Sultan.”
Kimathi was Phoebe Muende’s boyfriend, though their relationship was reportedly turbulent. Investigators believe Kimathi had developed a toxic fixation on Seth, blaming her for influencing Phoebe to end their relationship.
Kimathi was no stranger to violence. Just weeks before the murder, on September 25, 2024, he had been arraigned in court for threatening to kill. Despite this red flag, he remained at large, and after Seth’s body was found, he vanished into thin air.
For 14 months, Kimathi became a ghost. He eluded police capture twice—once in Thika and again in a subsequent raid—leading the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to place him on the “Wanted for Murder” list of Seth Nyakio.
Living in Plain Sight
To evade the high-tech triangulation methods used by homicide detectives, Kimathi lived a “digital-free” life. He avoided owning a mobile phone or registering a SIM card, moving across counties, including Kiambu, Meru, and Nakuru. Eventually, he settled in the border town of Busia, where he took up a job at a cereal distribution shop.
In the end, it wasn’t sophisticated technology that caught him, but his own hubris. In December 2025, while in Busia, Kimathi got into an argument with a stranger. In a chilling display of arrogance, he allegedly bragged about his past, claiming he would kill the man “just like he had killed a politician’s daughter” before disappearing.
The stranger, shaken by the threat, secretly took a photo of Kimathi and conducted an online search. He found the DCI’s wanted poster and reached out directly to Seth Nyakio mother, Lucy Njeri.
On December 13, 2025, a covert operation involving the DCI Homicide Unit and local police from Busia and Kisii South finally brought “Sultan” to justice.
Justice in the Courtroom
On December 15, 2025, Kimathi appeared before the Kiambu Law Courts. The image of the suspect in a yellow hoodie bearing the words “Girl Boss”—a sickening irony given his alleged crimes—infuriated the public.
Seth’s mother, Lucy, sat in the courtroom clutching a portrait of her daughter, her grief still as raw as the day she buried her. “I am broken,” she sobbed to the court. “Seth Nyakio was my only daughter. Why did you do this?”
The court granted investigators 21 days to finalize forensic evidence, including DNA samples and testimonies from the border town.
As of May 2026, the trial continues to be a focal point for activists and legal experts monitoring the efficiency of Kenya’s judicial system in handling gender-based violence.
A National Crisis
The case of Seth Nyakio Njeri is not an isolated incident. Statistics from 2024 and 2025 show a terrifying spike in femicide in Kenya, with over 170 women killed in 2024 alone—a 79% increase from the previous year.
Seth’s death helped fuel the “Dark Echoes” and “Justice for Nyakio” movements, forcing the government to address the systemic failures in police response and the protection of vulnerable women.
For the family of Seth Nyakio, the arrest of Ken Kimathi provides a semblance of closure, but the scar remains. Her story serves as a stark reminder that the fight for the safety of Kenyan women is far from over. It is a call for a society where ambition, joy, and friendship do not end in a tragedy in a rented room.
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