LIST OF KENYAN JOURNALISTS FOUND DEAD IN THEIR HOUSES

By Justus Kiprono | May 2, 2022

Journalists are salient people in society because they are tasked to disseminate knowledge of current affairs to the public and are determined to search for the truth and air it in a fair opinion. Sadly, many end up taking their lives or being killed under mysterious circumstances in their line of duty as they are targets of persecution by many who feel pressured and intimidated when their dirty side is unearthed by these journalists. Buzz Central takes you through a list of journalists who have been found dead in their houses:

Grace Makosewe

Grace Makosewe was a radio presenter and had worked for Capital FM, Homeboyz Radio, and the Kisumu-based Urban Radio. She was found dead inside her apartment in Golf Course Phase II Estate.

Kilimani Police boss Peter Katam told Capital News that the matter was reported by her cousin, who had left her in the morning before heading to work. Katam says her body had no physical injuries though a probe has been launched to establish the cause of her death. “We are equally concerned and we want to know whether there was anyone seen around the place at that time and whether she had confrontations with anyone,” Katam said.

Joshua Nanjero

Joshua Nanjero was an editorial cartoonist working for Standard Media Group’s The Nairobian newspaper, where he puffed humour in his section dubbed ‘The Peculiar.’

He was born on November 9, 1971, and developed a great passion for illustrating life through drawings on exercise books in which he entertained friends who schooled with him at Baba Dogo Primary School before working for True Love Magazine, Drum, Kenya Times, and ultimately onboarded as a humorist at The Standard.

Sorrowfully, the world lost a witty and humorous person, according to his colleagues, on November 23, 2021, when his decomposing body was discovered at his house in Kayole, Nairobi after his caretaker reported to the police about a foul smell that was emanating from his house. The coroner’s report indicated that Nanjero had a clot in his brain, collapsed lungs, and died due to a stroke as he was living with a high blood pressure condition. He was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Kakamega County on December 7. He left behind his wife and three kids.

Eric Oloo

Eric Oloo was a Siaya correspondent for The Star newspaper until November 21, 2019, when his mutilated body with deep cuts was found cold at the house of Ugunja police station deputy OCS Inspector Sabina Kerubo, where they had been living as husband and wife for a while.

The authorities investigated the matter, and the evidence implicated a man named Joel Ogolla Luta, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison in a judgement delivered by Lady justice Roseline Aburili on April 21, 2021. Kerubo was also found guilty but could not be inferred of the crime following her death under unclear circumstances in 2019.

Titus Maero

Titus Maero was a long-time sports writer contributing to Nation and Taifa Leo news desks. The veteran scribe initially worked for The People Daily before joining Nation Media Group, where he diligently performed his journalistic duties as a Kakamega correspondent until he died by suicide in a suspected hanging case as his body was found in his house at Nambacha, Navakholo Sub-County, on February 17, 2022, with a rope in the neck. 

He left behind a suicide note reading, “I have suffered enough, and I see no need for survival.” The 59-year-old was reportedly battling intestinal cancer and mental illness for over a decade. He was eulogised by Senior Nation Media Group sports writer John Ashiundu as a resilient journalist with proficiency in his work.

“Maero has left a big gap in the sports fraternity that may not be easy to fill. We shall remember him as a committed journalist who delivered his work under minimal supervision,” said Ashiundu. He was interred at his Kakamega home on February 25. He is survived by a wife and their two daughters.

Cliff Moses

Cliff Moses was a video editor at Royal Media Services (RMS) Citizen TV until his resignation in March 2022. His lifeless body was found at his Nairobi house on April 23, and preliminary investigations revealed that the journalist, who joined RMS in 2017, died by suicide.

One of his colleagues revealed that Cliff was depressed and had opened up about the depression after his first suicide attempt failed. “He had been battling depression for a while. He resigned in March, and a few days later, he attempted to take his life, but he was saved after being rushed to hospital.” The source said. Police took over his case to investigate the actual cause of his death.

Bernard Wesonga

Bernard Ochieng Wesonga was a journalist working for The Star newspaper until his untimely death on Sunday, March 31, 2013. His body was found with blood on the nose and mouth by a housemate at around 11:30 AM before calling the authorities, who later failed to establish the cause of death.

Close friends stated that the 27-year-old was at a local pub on the night of Saturday, March 30, and had opened up about threats he was receiving from unknown people for covering a story of the sale of expired fertilisers, which was nabbed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in Changamwe, following his coverage.

His supervisor, Chief Correspondent Maureen Mudi, eulogised him as a dedicated journalist with mastery skills in covering investigative stories that provided the public with vital information for intelligent public discourse.