12 March 2024

• His body was retrieved and kept at General Kago Morgue in Thika.

• He was found with the identification card of the deceased partner Jackline Jerop Kimaiyo and a suicide note.

A man who was accused of killing his wife in Mathira, Nyeri county was on Monday found dead after suspected suicide in Thika, Kiambu county.

The body of Evans Kosgei was found dangling from a tree with a rope around his neck on Monday, March 11, police said.

He is suspected to have died by suicide Sunday night or Monday morning, police said.

His body was found on a tree long after he had evaded a police dragnet in the Jomoko area on Thika-Mangu Road.

He was found with the identification card of the deceased partner Jackline Jerop Kimaiyo and a suicide note indicating he was equally responsible for his partners murder.

The suicide note was kept for analysis. He had been missing since March 6 when the body of his wife and mother of one-was found in Mathira after a murder he is linked to.

His body was retrieved and kept at General Kago Morgue in Thika.

Kosgei is reported to have killed Jackline in a love triangle saga.

She was a teacher in Mathira East where her body was found while her husband was a night guard in Thika.

He lived in Waitethie, Thika about 50 kilometres from where the wife worked.

Before and after Jackline was brutally murdered, Kosgei had taken to social media to accuse her of cheating on him.

A team of police from Nyeri had been monitoring his movements and revealed he fled to Mombasa for what they believe was a ritual mission.

He crossed the ferry to Likoni where he stayed for two days before returning on Saturday night.

According to police, Kosgei always switched off his mobile phone whenever he was on the move and disabled his SIM card all along to avoid detection.

The detectives aware of the case said they had been working with their counterparts at the headquarters in pursuing the suspect in vain.

On Sunday, he switched on his mobile phone for a few minutes while in Thika before switching it off again.

He was also wanted at his place of work and so he had made all necessary plans for his movements.

The team on his trail said they camped in the Thika area between his residence and place of work in vain.

“We knew the issue was on social media and everyone was on his trail but we could do nothing to help,” an officer aware of the issue said.

Kosgei had according to his social media posts accused Jackline of planning to dump him despite selling everything to pay her school fees at Murang'a University.

In a series of Tweets, Kosgei promised to “join” the late wife because, to him, life had lost meaning.

Kosgei used his X account, to issue menacing statements directed towards his spouse, even tagging law enforcement authorities and media outlets.

According to him, their relationship traced back to their high school days, characterised by a seemingly unbreakable bond that defied familial objections. However, their union was tested when two other individuals entered their lives.

This marked the end of the relationship and their lives.

Police said they are investigating both incidents of murder and suspected suicide.

The incident is linked to mental issues, which are on the rise in the country.

Cases of suicide linked to mental instability are on the rise amid calls to address the trend.