There is something about Faith Wairimu that makes her stand out in a crowd. Maybe it is her cute, innocent eyes, or the lock of brown wig that covers part of her forehead, or the earrings that run from the bottom to the top of her ears. Maybe it is her innocent-looking face, made even more so by a dash of black around her eyes and the sharp arcs of her tweezed eyebrows that make her look permanently stunned and, some say, stunning. But looks can be deceiving, for this is the woman who last week confessed in a court of law to contracting the services of hit men to kill her husband of 15 years. Her justification? She feared her husband, John Muthee Guama, would leave her for another woman. Faith says there was no way she could live with the thought of her husband entertaining another woman, and so she sought the help of people she thought were gangsters to put a bullet in his skull. Those gangsters, however, turned out to be undercover police officers, and so here we are, trying to understand how a couple that, from photographs in their family album, looked so happy, and loving, and trusting. Muthee, probably the luckiest man alive in his Kasarani neighbourhood today, struggled to explain to this writer where the rain began beating his marriage. “I don’t understand what happened,” he said, his voice trailing off, “and probably it will never sink in. All I can do is just speculate.” The police, however, need no speculation. Inside the grubby walls of Kasarani police station, off Thika Road at Roysambu area, a man sits, perusing documents and answering calls on his mobile phone. Every now and then, he steps out to either chat with his colleagues or speak with his seniors. Muthee is alive today because of the actions of this man, who, being the sleuth that he is, requested anonymity. The target also believes that one of his tenants, a woman he only identifies as Mama Kevo, who was a close friend of Faith’s, might have had a hand in saving his life. This is how it all unravelled: A few weeks ago, Mama Kevo, acting on behalf of Faith, met with police officers from Kasarani and informed them that her friend was looking for someone to kill her husband. The police immediately saw a chance to play hero and told her that they would like to be part of the action. They asked Mama Kevo for Faith’s contacts and arranged a meeting. “We assured Faith that we would do a clean hit,” the police officer told us. “She did not know that we were actually police officers and eased herself into the trap effortlessly. She requested that we leave no trace that could be used to incriminate any of us after killing her husband and we assured her that we would be absolutely professional about it.” Faith agreed to pay the “killers” Sh200,000 for the job — Sh40,000 upfront and Sh160,000 after the hit. Then they parted ways, the police going back to their station to monitor her and she going back home to her husband, whom she hoped would be dead in a few days. “Ours was a pretty delicate operation,” the police officer said. “We had to ensure that Faith does not in any way suspect us to be the good boys, and so, on the surface, we took every order she gave us. While at it, we had to ensure that Muthee was safe, so we started monitoring him as well.” On June 18, Faith called the “killers” and informed them that the day had come. She had lured her husband to an open, busy place in Githurai from where she believed they could make an easy exit after the killing. Near where they stood was a busy Equity Bank branch and, looking at them from across the road, no one could have imagined what was about to happen. The “killers” rushed to the rendezvous in a car. Faith saw them but maintained her cool. Muthee just stood there, minding his own business. Around them, the cacophonic frenzy of the Githurai- Zimmermann area swallowed up every sound. Matatus. Market women. Touts. Children out and about. The groan of a car wash machine. The tap-tap of a carpenter busy at work. Everything seemed normal. But in Faith’s mind all the normalcy was about to be shattered by the deadly burst of gunfire. Where would they hit her husband? Would they be accurate or would they spray bullets all over the place. She stepped a few metres away from Muthee... and waited for the gunfire. Instead, the doors of the “killers’” getaway car opened and a man stepped out. What was happening? The men went straight for her husband and started dragging him towards the car. Muthee went bollocks, shouting at them to leave him alone and calling his wife to come to his rescue. Then he looked around and realised Faith was nowhere to be seen. She had fled. He was alone. Around them, the groan of a car wash machine, the tap-tap of a carpenter, the wail of a child...
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 03:44:59 +0000
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