On May 9, TV47 aired a riveting documentary revisiting the last moments of slain university student, Rita Waeni. The macabre killing of the 20-year-old in January sent shockwaves across the country. This came against the backdrop of another chilling murder of a 26-year-old socialite, Starlet Wahu, at a short-term rental apartment, also known as Airbnb, in South B, Nairobi. These frightening events led to calls for justice and the protection of women against what some call a rising wave of femicide.
The media, both mainstream and digital, to their credit, have relentlessly pursued these stories with unparalleled tenacity. Waeni’s, in particular, gripped national attention because of the profound cruelty with which her suspected killer (or were they more than two people?), first, strangulated her, and later dismembered her body.
The discovery of body pieces wrapped in blood-soaked bed sheets in Roysambu estate in Nairobi pricked the nation’s conscience. How could a human being do such a thing to a fellow being? What was the motive behind such gruesome killing? Could society have saved Rita if there had been stringent regulations on Airbnb apartments dotting the city? How come the police were unable to capture the suspect despite the persistent demands for a ransom of Sh500,000 from Rita’s distraught parents, even after identifying their daughter’s body?
These are some of the questions Franklin Wallah grapples with in the 58-minute documentary aired on TV47. Wallah’s interviews largely focus on Rita’s parents, who have fond memories of her. They described her as brilliant and hardworking. Others interviewed include her aunt, former collegemates, a forensic expert and the caretaker who discovered the body. There’s also file footage from the government pathologist, Dr Johansen Oduor, and Instagram chat messages between Rita and her suspected killer, who went by the name Carlton Maina.
What follows in the documentary, which has attracted more than 340, 000 views on YouTube, is an emotional rollercoaster that exposes the torment of parents robbed of a daughter, the lingering terror and fear (Rita’s mother and aunt would not allow their faces to be shown), the endemic inefficiencies of Kenya’s security system, the lethargy of investigative agencies to help track down the suspect and the hands-off approach when booking short-term rental apartments. The exposé is essentially an indictment of a society corrupted by greed, materialism, violence, savagery and sadism.
“Tracing Rita Waeni’s last moments: What really happened?” has lived up to the media’s watchdog role: to pose difficult questions to help shed light on an event of public interest. More often, events are reported and forgotten because the press rarely conducts follow-ups. This means stories that have the potential to provoke national conversations are scarcely given the attention they deserve. TV47’s documentary is a wake-up call to other media houses on the need to invest in investigative journalism projects that help Kenyans make sense of what it means when a society loses such young souls as Rita and Wahu. Violence against young women, in particular, is an abhorrent crime that warrants decisive action from state authorities.
However, despite its stellar production, the documentary had shortcomings that should be quickly mentioned. First, Wallah failed to approach the Rita murder story with an open mind. Good journalism is exploratory and forever curious. Instead, there were instances when prejudice got the better of him, leading to rushed judgment on the suspect, who, according to Kenyan law, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. His obvious prejudice means he only treaded on familiar ground and narrowed down on a single presumed culprit when there could be more.
Second, the documentary adversely mentioned the National Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Ethical journalism requires that when an organisation or individual is mentioned in unfavourable light, the reporter must give them the right to reply. So, how come the reporter did not bother to interview DCI director Mohamed Amin, or even the police spokesperson for such an important story that required their voices? Instead, the story relied on the commentary of a forensic ‘expert’ whose professional life is sketchy, if a Google search is to be believed. TV47 can do better next time.
