Mercy Wanjiku Muthui, a Kenyan musician, was reported dead after being found in a ditch that borders the back garden of their house in Jargersgreek, Netherlands.
The 32-year-old mother of one had been reported missing by her husband, Daniel Erhardt, who stated Wanjiku had committed suicide by drowning in a ditch.
Wanjiku’s family learnt of her death on January 13, 2018, through a call from the Foreign Affairs Ministry official, who gave them information Erhardt had given the police.
Speaking to Daily Nation, Wanjiku’s sister, Bilha Muthui, stated they suspected foul play in what caused her death.
“According to the media, Erhardt had reported that his wife was not in bed next to him when he woke up and appeared as if she was not at home but it took the police a few minutes search when they found her body in a ditch,” she narrated.
Wanjiku’s husband contacted her family and cited he was unable to raise Ksh1.2 million to ship her body back to Kenya.
He obtained a paybill number to help raise the money and according to his Facebook account, he managed to raise 2,400 Euros equivalent to Ksh 275,000.
On Wednesday last week, he contacted the family yet again, claiming he had decided to cremate the body as a cheaper way of disposal.
“He said he would cremate her on Friday, the same day we were to hold a memorial for her at Jericho church. We told him that our customs and beliefs as Christians were not in tandem with cremation, but he said he did not care how we felt and it was our problem to deal with,” Bilha stated.
They contacted Kenya’s ambassador to the Netherlands but were told that Erhardt was Wanjiku’s next of kin and that whatever he decided was to be respected.
