A Bungoma family's year-long search for their daughter has ended in grief after police exhumed remains believed to be hers from a shallow grave inside a bedroom in Siaya County, in a case detectives are treating as a possible double murder.

Brenda Nafula disappeared in September last year. She had told her family that she was married and living in Ugunja. Her remains were dug up on Monday, October 26, from a house in the Ndere area of Alego after police obtained a court order, and were taken to the Siaya County Referral Hospital mortuary for a postmortem.

Suspect linked to employer's death

According to Ugenya Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer Benson Musyoka, as reported by Citizen Digital, the suspect, Nafula's husband, moved to Ugenya after her disappearance and found work as a domestic worker at a homestead in Urenga village.

Police say his employer, a 56-year-old mother of four, went missing on September 3 this year and her body was later found buried in the servants' quarters of her compound. The suspect allegedly fled to Kakamega County with his two-year-old son but was traced and arrested, and is being held at Ukwala Police Station.

Detectives say he first confessed to killing his employer and, after further questioning about his wife, allegedly admitted to killing her as well following a domestic dispute and burying her inside their house. The Ukwala Law Courts have granted police 14 days to complete investigations. He has not yet been charged with murder and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A father's long search

Nafula's father, Ronald Khaemba, told The Star he travelled to Ugunja after losing contact with her and reported the matter at Ugunja Police Station. In August this year, he said, police advised him to visit the homestead where the young man had been working.

"I kept wondering where my daughter had gone," Khaemba said, recalling that he had personally obtained an identity card for her before she left home.

A retired detective who assisted the family, Wilson Ochieng' Konieng', said digital leads helped trace the suspect to Maraba in Kakamega. He urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to widen its inquiries and pursue every lead.

Family appeals for help

The family wants forensic and DNA tests concluded quickly so they can bury Nafula at home in Bungoma in line with Luhya customs, and has appealed for financial help.

"We are asking the government to fast-track these medical and forensic processes," said her cousin, Justus Masika.

Nafula's young child is in the care of children's services. Investigators are expected to establish the circumstances of both deaths and whether the two cases are linked to any others.

Photos: The Star (Ronald Khaemba addressing the media in Ugunja; the house where the body was exhumed). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.