• He was unable to sire children but told his wife he didn't want them as he had two. She wanted a family and when she fell pregnant, he was enraged.
• They separated for two months. He wanted to reconcile and they went to dinner.. She went back to the house. The next morning they were found dead.
For five years, married life had seemed full of contentment for a couple who were found shot dead in their house in Kiambu.
There was one problem: Johnathan Mukindi, 42, didn't want children and Philomena Njeri, 30, became desperate for a family.
He never told her he was impotent. They even tried IVF. He knew it wouldn't work. When she became pregnant, he knew she had a secret lover and he couldn't live with the knowledge of betrayal.
Friends and neighbours were shocked on Tuesday when police discovered the two. They had been married for six years.
Mukundi worked with insurance companies and bought vehicles that had been written off. He sold the spare parts, a friend said.
The spare parts business was doing very well. It was being run by his wife Njeri.
He had moved to the Kirigiti area after building a mansion in 2014. He often held lavish parties attended by prominent people.
The mansion on a large parcel of land extending to a stream is well secured with a heavy metal gate, security cameras and 12 German Shepherd dogs.
Close friends and workers in the home said the happy situation started deteriorating badly in the sixth year of their marriage.
They frequently argued, and sometimes it was heated. They argued about childlessness.
According to the police report, Mukundi, a licensed gun holder, shot his wife three times in the head before turning the gun on himself.
Those who spoke to the Star gave different versions of the story about their feuding.
While one said that Mukundi did not want any children as he already had two from his previous marriage, another said he confided to a close friend that he was unable to sire children.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
“He has two children and an ex-wife who live outside the country, so he did not want any more children but Njeri wanted children very much," neighbour Joseph Kamau said.
A close friend of the couple confirmed Mukundi has two children and a wife in Belgium. He also said that Njeri was pregnant but it was through in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
“The two met at a club sometime back and when Njeri couldn’t get pregnant, they went the IVF way,” he said, asking not to be named.
The friend said trouble started after Mukundi discovered that Njeri had an affair with one of her workers at a spare parts shop she ran in Mlolongo area.
“Mukundi had opened the shop for his wife who secretly opened another shop for her secret lover in the same area,” he said.
Another neighbour who did not want to be named said Mukundi was furious when he discovered his wife was pregnant. He never told her he couldn't sire children.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
“He called a friend in whom he had confided earlier. He told him Njeri was pregnant and he was not the father.
"He was so furious that he threatened to harm himself or his wife,” the neighbour said.
“When the friend tried calling him back, he was not picking up. It was too late,” he added.
Kamau said Mukundi had just returned to the house recently after a brief separation and the couple were together on Monday evening.
“Mukundi was drunk and had an accident near their home. He was drunk most of the time and would sometimes get involved in minor accidents,” he said.
Kiambu DCIO Dennis Wekesa confirmed the couple had separated for two months before the murder-suicide.
Wekesa said Mukundi had been trying to reach Njeri on the phone, hoping to reconcile and on Monday, the two met for lunch.
In the evening, as they were going their separate ways, Mukundi hit a nearby wall and called Njeri back to take him home. His driver took the car to the Kiambu police station.
“They agreed to go to the station the following day to sort the issue and we believe that is why Njeri spent the night at the home,” he said.
Kiambu Town OCPD Mohammed Badel said a maid contacted the police around 6pm on Tuesday. She said she had been knocking on their door but there had been no response since morning when she arrived for work.
"Immediately we got the distress call, we entered the house and went to the bedroom, which was locked from the inside," Badel said. They knocked for a while and decided to break down the door
The bodies were found inside their bedroom, which had been locked from inside.
Based on the bodies' condition, the shootings had occurred about 10 hours before, Badel said.
Neighbours told police there was a disagreement between the couple for almost two months.
"Mostly this is caused by depression, maybe some stress within the family. I urge you; if you are having a problem go for counselling or get help from neighbours or ask friends for advice," Badel said.
According to a report made at the Kiambu police station, Robert Njuguna told police it was unusual for his boss not to pick calls or return missed calls.
He had gone to the station on Tuesday where he was to pick Mukundi's car that had struck a wall the previous evening.
Njuguna went with the police to the house and witnessed the death scene.
Police recovered Mukundi's mini-Glock pistol.
The DCIO said they were investigating.
(Edited by V. Graham)