Phone Data Links Husband to Murder of Mpesa Agent Hannah Waithera

 

By Cherop Faith 

 Investigators probing the brutal murder of Ms. Hannah Waithera, an Mpesa agent who was reported missing and later found dead, have revealed that phone data places her in the same location as her husband on the night she disappeared, raising serious suspicions about his involvement.

Detective Corporal Richard Kipsang of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nakuru told the court on Monday that tracking data showed Ms. Waithera’s and Mr. Zachary Wambugu’s phones were in the same location at around 2:00 a.m. on March 31, the night she vanished.

“When we tracked the woman’s mobile phone, the data showed it was at the same location as the suspect’s,” said Cpl. Kipsang. “When questioned, Mr. Wambugu claimed a friend had tracked the phone and saw it moving toward Nairobi via Kijabe.”

The revelation was made during a hearing at the Nakuru Law Courts, where police sought to detain Mr. Wambugu for 21 days to allow for the completion of investigations.

Husband Reported Her Missing Hours After Disappearance

Authorities became suspicious when Mr. Wambugu reported his wife missing just two hours after her last known contact, a highly unusual timeline for a disappearance report. He went to the central police station in Nakuru to file the report, but officers declined to enter it in the Occurrence Book, advising him to return the next day due to the short time that had passed.

This, coupled with the phone data, led police to detain him as a key suspect in what is now being investigated as a murder.

Body Found Decomposing at Technology Farm

Ms. Waithera’s decomposing body was discovered on May 21, a week after her disappearance, dumped at Technology Farm on the outskirts of Nakuru town. She had gone missing while on an errand to deposit KSh 250,000 in a bank on behalf of her employer.

According to preliminary reports, there were signs of foul play, although investigators have yet to release a full autopsy report.

Ongoing Investigation and Legal Battle

Detective Kipsang told Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet that the investigation team needs more time to:

• Record statements from key witnesses
• Retrieve and analyze CCTV footage from nearby locations
• Conduct forensic DNA testing
• Examine data from both the suspect’s and victim’s mobile phones

However, Mr. Wambugu’s lawyer opposed the application, arguing that his client has been cooperative throughout the investigation and has not attempted to flee. He called the application a violation of Wambugu’s constitutional rights to liberty and bail, maintaining that the accusations are premature and unfounded.

“My client has fully cooperated with investigators and has no reason to harm his wife. The State has not provided sufficient grounds to deny him his rights,” the lawyer told the court.

Awaiting Ruling

Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet is expected to rule on the police application to detain Mr. Wambugu for 21 days on Wednesday.

The murder of Ms. Waithera has sparked renewed public concern over rising cases of intimate partner violence and financially motivated crimes. As the case unfolds, Kenyans are watching closely to see whether the trail of digital evidence will lead to justice for the slain Mpesa agent.