Residents of Eburru Mbaruk Ward in Gilgil Sub county of Nakuru County are now demanding answers over what they term is a trend where minors are being brutally murdered in unclear circumstances.
In an open letter undersigned by Johnson Gichuki Wachiuri on behalf of the residents, they have addressed the leadership of Nakuru including Governor Susan Kihika, Woman Rep Liza Chelule, Gilgil MP Martha Wangari, and Senator Tabitha Karanja, Senator.
The concerned residents have appealed to the leadership to move with speed and ensure justice following the brutal murder of Grace Nyarua and the unresolved killing of Jazmine Njoki Wambugu.
In the open letter dated August 25, 2026, the residents expressed their shattered hearts righteous fury over the same.
“We write to you with shattered hearts and righteous fury following the brutal rape and murder of Grace Nyarua, a Grade 9 student at Echareria Primary School in Eburu Mbaruk Ward. Grace was not only assaulted and killed but had her eyes gouged out in an act of savagery that has shaken the very foundations of our community. No child should meet such a grotesque end, and no parent should have to identify their daughter in such a state,” they stated.
They added that this tragedy is rendered even more unbearable by the fact that it is not an isolated event.
According to the locals, this is the second horrific incident involving a minor girl in the area, and that the first case remains an open wound.
It should be noted that in September 2023, Jasmine Njoki Wambugu, a 12-year-old Grade 6 pupil at Roots Academy, was killed under similarly mysterious and violent circumstances.
To this day, nearly three years later, her file sits on a police desk labelled “under investigation” – a bureaucratic placeholder that has delivered neither justice for Jasmine nor closure for all of the residents.
While terming this a ‘Pattern of Failure’, the residents said they cannot ignore the disturbing pattern.
“We cannot ignore the disturbing pattern: young girls like Grace and Jasmine are being targeted, violated, and murdered with escalating brutality, yet the response from our security apparatus remains lethargic and ineffective. Jasmine’s case – still unresolved – should have served as a catalyst for change. Instead, it has become a grim precedent for delay and neglect. The killers of Jasmine Njoki Wambugu are still out there, and now the killers of Grace Nyarua walk free among us, emboldened by the belief that they can snuff out young lives without consequence,” they stated.
The residents have made the following demands and that they are not asking for pity but demanding decisive, visible, and relentless action.
“We call upon you, our elected leaders, to:
1. Summon the County Police Commander and the DCI Regional Head immediately and demand a detailed briefing on both cases. The people of Nakuru deserve a timeline for arrests, not excuses for inertia.
2. Publicly flag these two dockets for expedited handling at the highest level of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. We ask that you personally engage the DPP to ensure that prosecutors are ready the moment suspects are apprehended.
3. Issue a strong, unified public statement condemning these atrocities and declaring that your offices will not rest until the perpetrators of both Grace’s and Jasmine’s murders are brought to book. Your collective silence would be interpreted as complicity.
4. Mobilise resources for witness protection and community policing in Emburu Ward. Residents are terrified – they fear their daughters could be next, and they fear that speaking out will cost them their lives. We need concrete guarantees of safety for those who hold crucial information.
5. Initiate a County-wide safety audit of all schools and transportation routes for learners, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, to prevent a third tragedy”
They have further called on elected leaders in Nakuru who hold the moral authority and political power to shake the police force out of its slumber.
“We are not asking for partisan rhetoric; we are demanding the protection of our children. The blood of Grace Nyarua cries out from the ground. The unanswered ghost of Jasmine Njoki Wambugu haunts our community every day. We cannot afford a third Grace. We cannot wait another year for ‘investigations’ that lead nowhere. We demand leadership. We demand urgency. We demand justice – for Grace, for Jasmine, and for every child in Nakuru,” they stated.
The open letter has been copied to:
1): Inspector General of Police, Kenya Police Service
2): Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
3): Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR)
4): The Media