Missing KFS Legal Services Manager Esther Wairimu Keige Found Dead in Juja as Weeks-Long Search Ends in Tragedy
The search for missing Kenya Forest Service (KFS) Legal Services Manager Esther Wairimu Keige has ended in tragedy after her body was discovered in a secluded coffee plantation in Juja, Kiambu County, several weeks after she disappeared without a trace.
The 54-year-old advocate, who had served as KFS’s Legal Services Manager, was last seen on the evening of June 10 leaving her office along Kiambu Road. Her sudden disappearance sparked growing concern among family members, colleagues and the legal fraternity, prompting weeks of anxious searching and appeals for information.
Her body was discovered on Monday, July 7, at Area 4 near Karimenu in Juja, bringing the agonising search to a heartbreaking conclusion.
Confirming the discovery, Juja Sub-County Police Commander Isaac Kombo said the remains were found in a coffee plantation before being identified by relatives.
According to police, the body was largely intact, although it had significantly decomposed by the time it was recovered. Two close family members were later called to the scene and positively identified the remains.
The body has since been transferred to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) mortuary, where a post-mortem examination is expected to establish the exact cause of death.
The news sent shockwaves across Kenya’s legal fraternity, with advocates expressing grief and calling for swift investigations into the circumstances surrounding her death.
Advocate Caroline Oduor confirmed the tragic development in a statement, describing the discovery as devastating after weeks of uncertainty.
“After weeks of anxious searching since 9th June, Esther Wairimu Keige, Advocate, has sadly been found dead in Gatundu Forest.”
She added:
“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.”
Investigators are now retracing Keige’s final known movements after reports emerged that students from a nearby school had allegedly encountered her alive days after she disappeared. According to preliminary accounts given to police, she is said to have approached the students asking for food.
Detectives are treating the reported sighting as a significant lead as they seek to reconstruct her final days and establish how she ended up in the remote plantation where her body was eventually found.
Authorities have not disclosed whether foul play is suspected, saying investigations remain ongoing pending forensic analysis and the outcome of the autopsy.
The sombre development coincided with another loss for Kenya’s legal community following the death of retired High Court Judge Justice Godfrey Omondi Tunya, who passed away on Sunday night at a Nairobi hospital after a prolonged illness.
His death marked the end of the distinguished career of one of the country’s respected judicial officers, casting an even darker cloud over the legal fraternity on a day of profound mourning.
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