Missing Kenya Forest Service (KFS) Legal Services Manager Esther Wairimu Keige has been found dead, several weeks after she disappeared without a trace.
Vantage Ke has established that her body was recovered on Monday, July 7, in a secluded coffee plantation in Juja, Kiambu County, bringing a tragic end to the weeks-long search for the senior advocate.
The 54-year-old lawyer had been missing since June 10 after she was last seen leaving her office along Kiambu Road that evening.
Juja Sub-County Police Commander Isaac Kombo confirmed the discovery, stating that the body was found in Area 4 near Karimenu.
Members of the legal fraternity, including Advocate Caroline Oduor, also confirmed Keige's death, ending weeks of uncertainty surrounding her disappearance.
“After weeks of anxious searching since 9th June, Esther Wairimu Keige, Advocate has sadly been found dead in Gatundu Forest,” stated Advocate Oduor.
“My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones during this profoundly difficult time. May they find strength in the face of this devastating loss. May those responsible be identified, brought before the law, and held fully accountable.”
According to preliminary investigations, the body was found intact, although it had already begun decomposing by the time it was discovered.
Police reportedly summoned two of Keige's relatives, who positively identified the remains, offering the family long-awaited closure.
The body was later transferred to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) mortuary, where a post-mortem examination is expected to establish the cause of death.
Before the discovery, investigators had received information that students at a nearby school had seen Keige alive after her disappearance, claiming she had approached them asking for food.
The reported sighting is now expected to play a crucial role in investigations as detectives work to reconstruct her final movements and establish the circumstances surrounding her death.
Judiciary Mourns Death Of Retired High Court Judge
The tragic development came on the same day the legal fraternity was also mourning retired High Court judge Justice Godfrey Omondi Tunya, who died after a long illness.
Justice Tunya passed away on Sunday night at a Nairobi hospital, where he had been admitted over the weekend after his condition deteriorated following a prolonged battle with illness.
