The deceased has been identified as Barnabus Machoni Kitoyi, a resident of Nyamemiso area in Nyaribari Chache Constituency.
His body was found on Monday inside a toilet at Christ Nyamemiso Church, shocking local residents and worshippers.
According to a police report, Kitoyi’s body was found with a black piece of cloth tied tightly around his neck, with the other end fastened to a wooden rafter on the roof of the toilet.
Officers at the scene said the position suggested possible strangulation or hanging, but the circumstances remained unclear.
Adding to the mystery, a machete was found placed on the toilet door, a detail investigators say raises serious questions about how the incident occurred.
Despite the disturbing findings, police noted that the scene appeared largely undisturbed, with no clear signs of a struggle.
This observation has led officers to suspect that the toilet may not be the primary scene where the man died.
Police further observed that Kitoyi’s stomach was swollen, and his shirt was stained with blood around the collar area.
Investigators believe the blood may have oozed from his mouth, although this will be confirmed after a postmortem examination.
Officers say these physical signs make it difficult to immediately determine whether the death was self-inflicted or a result of foul play, prompting a deeper investigation.
Preliminary investigations established that the deceased lived alone in a semi-permanent house located approximately one kilometer from the church where his body was found.
Neighbours described Kitoyi as a quiet man who mostly kept to himself. However, some residents revealed that he had recently been involved in a land-related dispute with neighbours, a matter that had drawn the attention of local administrators.
According to police, the land dispute involving Kitoyi was already recorded at the Kegati Chief’s Office and was scheduled for a hearing on December 8.
Investigators are now treating this dispute as a possible line of inquiry, although they caution that it is too early to link it directly to his death.
“We are looking at all possible angles, including personal disputes and the circumstances under which the body was found,” a police officer involved in the investigation said.
The body was removed from the church toilet and taken to the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary, where it is being preserved pending a postmortem examination.
The autopsy is expected to help determine the exact cause of death and whether Kitoyi died due to strangulation, suffocation, or any other underlying factors.
Police have appealed to members of the public with any information that may help unravel the mystery to come forward and assist investigators.
They emphasized that unusual deaths, especially those involving conflicting evidence at the scene, require thorough examination before conclusions can be made.
Authorities have urged residents to remain calm as investigations continue, assuring the public that updates will be shared once forensic and witness findings are completed.
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