Police in Kiambu have finally tracked down the man they believe poisoned retired prison officer Henry Nkulu Igweta and his wife, former teacher Beatrice Kabutia, in September 2023.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations picked up Daniel Kimathi Kiamba on the night of August 9, 2025, in the Kasarani area of Igembe North, Meru County.
Officers say he had been living under different names and regularly changing phone numbers to avoid detection. Kimathi is expected to appear before the Kiambu Law Courts, to face two counts of murder.
The deaths shocked neighbours in Kiamumbi estate, Kiambu County. On September 28, 2023, Nkulu, 81, suddenly began vomiting and was taken to Aga Khan University Hospital. He died a week later, on October 5.
Three days after the burial plans began, Kabutia, 71, was found unconscious in her bed and rushed to Kenyatta University Referral Hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival.
Post-mortem examinations showed both victims had ingested lethal doses of farm chemicals. Nkulu’s body contained Amitraz and Cypermethrin, while Kabutia had Amitraz and Carbaryl. Samples of their last meals, collected from the family kitchen, carried the same pesticides.
Investigators say Kimathi, the couple’s live-in house help since 2022, cooked those meals.
He allegedly slipped out of the compound around 5 a.m. on the day Nkulu fell ill and switched off his phone soon after word of the illness spread.
For nearly two years, homicide detectives followed a trail of new SIM cards and false identities. According to officers close to the case, Kimathi came back onto their radar when he tried to acquire a smartphone through the digital lender Mkopa, triggering an electronic alert that led police to his hide-out near Meru National Park.
The mixture used in the killings is extremely deadly.
One (Amitraz) causes the collapse of the heart and lungs, while the other (Cypermethrin) affects the nervous system.
Ingested together and results are almost always fatal.
If convicted of murder, Kimathi faces life imprisonment. For now, Kiambu residents and the Nkulu family await answers to the questions that have lingered since that quiet September morning two years ago.
