Lugari woman who was shot seven times to death by police officer laid to rest

• Tom Lutali and Sam Oduor

Hundreds of mourners thronged Sinai Village in Mautuma Ward of Lugari Sub-county, Kakamega County, to pay their last respects to Rhodah Machuma Chepchumba, who was shot seven times to death by a police officer in Nairobi.

Ms. Majuma, 28, who has left behind three children, was one of the two women who were allegedly gunned down by Mark Mulanda, a police officer based in the bustling metropolis of Lang’ata, Nairobi County, about a week ago.

Media reports indicated that one of the two women shot dead was the officer’s wife, and the other was his colleague’s.

His father, while addressing mourners at the funeral today, said he was struck with grief and despair and could not hold back his tears upon seeing the lifeless body of his daughter when he visited City Mortuary in Nairobi.

“The moment I saw my daughter, my heart bled. Let Almighty God take control,” he said.

Other family members shared in his grief, heaving praise to the deceased woman.

“I have lost a friend who was really a good woman,” her uncle Benjamin Kokonya said.

Suspect turned gun on himself

A report filed at the Langata Police Station showed that Rhodah, who was the officer’s girlfriend, was shot seven times to death after the cop locked himself inside his house on Sunday at 9 p.m.

Mr. Mulanda, the suspect, then turned the gun on himself from the front through his neck, and the bullet exited through the back.

The death of Ms. Chepchumba came as a surprise to the family, especially her father and mother, who believed she was safe at her uncle’s home in Lwandeti, Lugari, before the shocking news.

Mr. Philip Kibomet Kiplagat, her father, told the Western Kenya Times that it is not clear why her daughter was shot not once, not twice, but seven times to death, but rumors swirl of a love triangle gone sour.

“As a family, up to now, the cause of her death is still unknown, but we’re waiting for the police to complete their investigation,” he said.

Rhodah’s body was transferred from City Mortuary to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary in Eldroret after a harambee on Friday to raise money to facilitate her burial.

WKT Reporter

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