The narrow corridors of Kilimani’s Mpunga Road flats have become the stage of a chilling mystery. Detectives at Kilimani Police Station are grappling with the suspicious death of 54-year-old Zaituni Kavaya, a Kibera-based laundry woman (Mama fua) who died after plunging from the fifth-floor balcony of an apartment building where she had been engaged to wash.
At the heart of the investigation are five Sudanese nationals who were arrested shortly after the incident. Police believe they may hold crucial answers to the riddle: Did Kavaya jump—or was she pushed?
A Routine Chore That Turned Fatal
On that fateful day, Kavaya had been summoned by her employer for routine cleaning work. Hours later, her daughter, Faith Kavaya, was unexpectedly called to Kilimani Police Station.
She carried a flask of tea, expecting to hand it to her mother during her break. Instead, she was met with the devastating words: “Your mother has passed away.”
“I told them, let’s give mum the tea so that she can drink it. Then they broke the news to me,” Faith recalled, her voice cracking. “They only said she fell from a building. No one explained how.”
The Money Dispute
Court documents have shed some light on the hours before her death. According to testimony, a dispute erupted when one of the Sudanese nationals accused Kavaya of stealing money from a pair of trousers she had washed.
Their lawyer, Wilson Hassan Nandwa, painted a picture of confrontation spiraling out of control.
“The son of the owner of the house did not find his money in one of the pockets. When he confronted her and insisted on going to report the matter to police, she tried to escape and fell from the balcony,” Nandwa told the court.
But this explanation has been met with fierce resistance from Kavaya’s relatives, who believe she was the victim of foul play.
Post-Mortem Findings Raise Eyebrows
A post-mortem examination revealed that Kavaya died from multiple injuries caused by heavy blunt force trauma. While consistent with a fall from a great height, the findings did not rule out assault prior to the plunge.
To her family, the idea of their mother voluntarily jumping to her death is unthinkable.
“Mum was strong, resilient, and God-fearing. She had no reason to take her own life,” Faith said.
The Arrests
Detectives wasted little time in rounding up the five Sudanese nationals connected to the incident. All five are currently detained at Kilimani Police Station as investigators sift through evidence—including phone records, eyewitness statements, and CCTV footage from the building.
A detective close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, hinted at inconsistencies in the suspects’ initial accounts.
“The stories kept shifting. First, it was about the missing money. Then it was about her trying to escape. Our job is to separate fact from cover-up,” he said.
Echoes of Another Suspicious Death
The Kilimani case comes barely a week after another worker, 35-year-old construction hand Sammy Kyengo, was discovered dead inside a water sump at the Talanta Sports Stadium site. He, too, bore suspicious injuries to the head and neck, sparking concerns about rising fatalities among Nairobi’s low-income workforce.
> “In whose hands are we safe?” asked Ivan Bongo, a fellow worker at the stadium project.
Jumped or Pushed?
The central question remains: Did Zaituni Kavaya leap in panic to escape humiliation over the alleged missing cash—or was she shoved to her death in a violent altercation?
Detectives believe the answer lies in a combination of forensic reconstruction of the fall and testimony from neighbours who may have heard the commotion. For now, the five Sudanese nationals remain the only suspects.
For Faith, though, the mystery is unbearably personal.
“Mum left home healthy, smiling, and ready to work. We expected her back. Instead, we are left with questions—and no answers.”
The case of Zaituni Kavaya illustrates the dangerous vulnerabilities faced by casual domestic workers who toil behind closed doors in Nairobi’s affluent suburbs. The fact that she died under disputed circumstances inside her employer’s apartment, with foreign nationals at the centre of the probe, has placed detectives under immense pressure to determine whether this was a tragic accident or a brutal crime.
Until the truth emerges, one question will haunt both investigators and her family: Was she jumped—or was she pushed?
Leave a Reply