She grew up in a humble background and needed bursaries from CDF to finish high school. A year later, things were very different. She had so much that symbolised opulence. Exquisite dresses, an array of high-heeled shoes to accompany them, an iPhone, name it. Her transformation was magical. Behind this magical transformation was Bradley, Zuri’s boyfriend. A young pilot who showered her with money.
Her social media pages showcased her life of pomp, a feat that made her enviable among her peers. On their second anniversary, Bradley suggested that they take a trip to one of the coastal cities. He was to hire a chartered plane to fly her there. The plan seemed to be on course, but would face the headwinds when a Continuous Assessment Test was scheduled for the day they intended to travel. Consequently, the trip was put in abeyance.
Not too far afterwards, fate smiled upon them. The government gazetted a public holiday for the funeral service of former President Mwai Kibaki and Eid the next week, giving a five-day holiday. This was the perfect opportunity to go for the trip.
On the day they were to travel, Bradley went missing. His phone was off and he did not show up at her apartment. Confused by this turn of events, she headed to his house, which she found locked. Having no other recourse, she decided to travel home for the long weekend, profoundly disappointed in her better half.
News would reach her days later that her boyfriend was in police custody, suspected of taking part in murder.
The firm from which Bradley got insurance cover noted something peculiar in one of its audits. Over a period of five years, two vehicles registered in Bradley’s name had been involved in crashes that resulted in fatalities. The reports indicated that both crashes happened along the South Coast, and in both, it was a female passenger who died whereas the driver survived.
Had Bradley taken life insurance cover for these women in a different firm, perhaps the ‘coincidence’ would have been ignored. What raised eyebrows further was that in both instances, Bradley had taken insurance for the two persons who died, and both were his girlfriends. Too much for a coincidence, no?
While his case is still under investigation, and he remains innocent until proven otherwise, cases where a person is murdered so that the murderer claims insurance premiums are not new. Young people who have a taste for living large are easy targets. They are baited by the perquisites of the high life and are often unaware of the risks they may be getting into.
Often, the murders will be done in a manner that makes it look like a normal death, and where there may be suspicion, a few palms will be greased and the authorities will look the other way. It has also been observed that these crimes are mostly perpetrated by relatively young people who are extremely wealthy.
The victims may not even be aware that they have an insurance cover with a certain firm. The person may just ask them for their details and do the registration without the victim’s consent. Since it is a partner asking for the information, most people willingly volunteer it, seeing no harm in doing so.
In his song Hayawani, Nyashinski says, “Binadamu amegeuka mnyama.” Such occurrences put a responsibility on us to get to know a person well before agreeing to be romantically involved with them. Moreover, one should avoid getting insurance from a person they do not know too well. For now, let’s see how that mystery unfolds.
