Since the beginning of the year, several women have lost their lives in the hands of cold-blooded suspects across the country.
One of the chilling cases reported was the infamous case of 26-year-old Starlet Wahu, who was brutally murdered allegedly by John Matara. She was left in a pool of her blood at a short-stay apartment.
This marked the unravelling of numerous cases involving Matara who is accused of preying on women through dating apps. He later lures them to private rooms where he assaults them and steals their money.
Another victim, a 27-year-old lady on Tuesday, March 19, narrated her horrific experience with the suspect. She is set to testify against Matara and hopes to get justice for the pain she and other women went through at the hands of the suspect.
The lady who spoke to Usikimye, a non-profit organisation helping victims of Gender Based Violence, revealed that she also met Matara on a dating app, where they began talking.
She began the online conversations with him in May 2023 before agreeing to meet. Matara is said to have pushed her to meet at his house but the lady refused.
Matara determined to meet the lady in a secluded place at night, called her again pretending that he had an early morning flight.
He explained that his flight was at 3 am and wanted to meet the lady for dinner at her house before his flight. The lady agreed to this and invited him over at night.
The two talked and dined before lights went out leaving them in the dark. She noted that this is when the situation got suspicious. She explained that Matara would walk around the house to see whether someone else was in the house.
He also kept asking how much the rent was and went to the washroom twice. He later went to the bedroom and the lady followed him, this marked the beginning of what seemed like unending torture at the hands of the murder suspect.
The lady revealed that Matara strangled her and when she tried to resist, he hit her in the left eye three times. He later took her to the living room and wrapped a cable around her neck while threatening to kill her.
He then took her to the bedroom, tied her to the bed and locked her in. He then ransacked the house looking for male contraceptives. Matara is said to have been hitting the lady before he forced her to undress.
According to the lady, the murder suspect assaulted her and he also forcefully performed an unnatural act on her. She revealed that Matara was also looking for objects such as soda bottles to injure her private parts.
At this point, the businesswoman was in unimaginable pain, bleeding from her eye and other body parts, limited blood flow and injuries from the beating.
Meanwhile, Matara demanded her PIN for her accounts and withdrew more than Ksh18,000. He threatened to kill the lady if she refused to tell him where her money was saved. Before leaving at 2 am Matara took the lady's passport and the keys to the gate.
While leaving, the lady revealed that he was attempting to be kind by asking 'Babe are you okay?'. The lady was left tied up from head to toe including her mouth preventing her from even calling for help.
Luckily, she managed to utter some words and called for help. The caretaker rushed to the scene, covered her with a blanket and she began her pursuit of justice.
She reported the matter to the police, sought medical help and deactivated her bank accounts.
Police are investigating her case and other statements from other victims to ensure Matara is imprisoned for murder, and extortion among other crimes.
