For years, the name Peter Mwangi Njenga remained largely outside the national spotlight. That changed dramatically in 2021 when detectives investigating the killing of National Land Commission official Jennifer Wambua identified him as the principal suspect.
Known by the alias Ole Sankale, Njenga's name emerged from criminal records that detectives said stretched back decades.
His case became particularly disturbing because investigators alleged that his previous offences bore similarities to the circumstances surrounding Wambua's death.
A criminal record dating back to the 1990s
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Njenga first appeared in criminal records in 1996, when he was charged with stealing.
Investigators said he was subsequently charged on three occasions with robbery with violence and rape. The DCI claimed that the offences followed a similar pattern involving robbery and sexual assault.
The seriousness of the cases culminated in a major court decision in January 2003. On January 15, Njenga was convicted and sentenced to death at the Kibera Senior Resident's Magistrate Court, according to the DCI's criminal records.
But one of the biggest mysteries surrounding his history was how he eventually regained his freedom.
Detectives investigating Wambua's death said they were unable to immediately establish how a man who had received a death sentence ended up outside prison years later. The DCI publicly described his release as a mystery that investigators were trying to unravel.
The Jennifer Wambua murder
Njenga returned to the centre of national attention in March and April 2021 following the disappearance and death of Jennifer Itumbi Wambua, an acting communications director at the National Land Commission.
Wambua disappeared on March 12, 2021. Her body was later discovered in the Kerarapon area of Ngong, several days after she went missing. She had reportedly gone to the Ngong area for private prayers.
As detectives reconstructed her final movements, Njenga emerged as a crucial figure.
According to investigators, witnesses had seen him with Wambua during the last period she was known to be alive. Forensic investigations also allegedly placed him at the scene.
Detectives said they recovered exhibits from the area and subjected them to forensic analysis, with results linking Njenga to the crime scene.
Police alleged that Njenga encountered Wambua as she returned from her prayers. Investigators further alleged that he offered her drinking water before sexually assaulting and strangling her.
An autopsy conducted by government pathologist Johansen Oduor reportedly found evidence of sexual contact and injuries consistent with the circumstances investigators were probing.
Arrest and murder charge
Njenga was arrested in April 2021 at his home in Embulbul, Ngong, as detectives intensified investigations into Wambua's death.
Before murder charges were formally pursued, prosecutors sought additional time to investigate. A court affidavit indicated that detectives had obtained several exhibits, including mobile phones, which were undergoing forensic examination.
At the time, investigators also said criminal records showed that Njenga had four pending cases involving robbery with violence and theft.
The Director of Public Prosecutions later approved murder charges against him.
The charge alleged that Njenga, together with other persons who had not been brought before the court, murdered Wambua between March 12 and March 13, 2021, in Kajiado North.
But the case encountered another hurdle.
Mental assessment complicates proceedings
In May 2021, a mental assessment found Njenga unfit to stand trial at that stage. The court consequently deferred his plea and ordered further assessment.
That development added another layer to an already complicated case involving a suspect with a documented criminal history, a previous death sentence and an unexplained return to freedom.
A case surrounded by unanswered questions
The story of Peter Mwangi Njenga is therefore not simply about the 2021 murder investigation. It is also about the questions raised by his earlier convictions, his alleged pattern of violent offences and the apparent gap between a 2003 death sentence and his later appearance as a free man in Ngong.
Most importantly, the allegations must be separated from proven facts.
Njenga was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003, according to DCI records, in connection with his earlier criminal cases. However, the allegations surrounding Jennifer Wambua's death should not be presented as a murder conviction without a subsequent court judgment establishing guilt.
What remains striking is how an old criminal record resurfaced nearly two decades later in one of Kenya's most closely followed murder investigations of 2021 — placing the man known as Sankale once again at the centre of a case marked by violence, unanswered questions and a trail of investigations stretching back to the 1990s.