The lifeless body of a woman, missing for a span of five days, has been discovered discarded inside a water tank in Kiruga village within Nyeri County.
Sarah Wairuri, a 47-year-old resident, was found in her 2,500-liter water tank located next to her three-roomed house on the evening of Thursday, January 18. The last sighting of her was on the morning of Saturday, January 13.
Neighbors routinely gathered to collect water from the tank, a gift from Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga in 2018. The tank, part of an initiative supported by the county government and the NGO My Brother’s Keeper Foundation, provided not only clean piped water but also essential food items and a three-roomed house to the deceased.
Unknown to the neighbors, the body of their benevolent neighbor was concealed in the same water tank from which they drew water. This grim reality came to light only when Sarah’s 15-year-old daughter noticed a noxious odor.
“It was only after five days that my 15-year-old daughter came complaining to me in the evening that the compound had a foul smell and the water fetched from the tank had a lot of foam,” revealed a family member.
It was later confirmed that the deceased had been grappling with a mental illness and was under medication. Sarah Wairuri, a single mother of eight, resided with her daughter and grandchild. The water tank, initially a source of sustenance for four neighboring households and a local church, now stands as an unforeseen testament to the tragic end of a woman who had once been a vital part of the community.
