Angel Atieno, a Form Three student at Sagam Secondary School in Gem, Siaya County went missing after retiring to bed at her brother’s house on the night of May 25, 2025.

Her family thought it was a normal night as she was cheerful and eager to attend school the next day. However, when she failed to turn up for breakfast, concern grew.

Angel’s brother first arrived at the main house and asked their father if he had seen her, but he had not. “I asked my son to check the latrine, but she wasn’t there either. I was worried because she always came for breakfast at 5am and was usually the first,” said Harun Otiende.

Unknown to the family, Angel had become the latest victim in a series of mysterious killings that have left the village shattered and fearful. In the past month, five schoolgirls have been murdered, their mutilated bodies found in different locations.

Upon realising his daughter was missing, Otiende reported the matter to the village elder, and the assistant chief. Soon after, Otiende’s uncle called to inform him Angel’s body had been found by the main road.

“I saw my daughter lying naked, with deep cuts all over her body,” Otiende recalls.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has since been investigating the case, but no breakthrough has been made so far.

The day after Angel’s death, another teenager, Emma Akinyi, a student at Yala Township Secondary School, was also murdered. Like Angel, Emma’s body bore deep cuts, and a pair of socks had been stuffed into her mouth.

A few kilometres from Midhine village, the family of Elizabeth Atieno, a Form Two student at Uranga Secondary School, is also mourning her brutal murder. Her grandmother, Margaret Anyango, told how Elizabeth had left to accompany a younger cousin to pick up a donated school uniform in Yala town.

“On the way back, a man approached them, telling Elizabeth she was beautiful and wanted to marry her,” Anyango said.

“The cousin felt uncomfortable and asked Elizabeth to leave. The man promised Sh100 for her silence and urged them to be patient. He said he was from Barklare and offered to walk them home.”

The cousin left briefly to fetch water from a relative’s house, but when she returned, Elizabeth and the man had disappeared.

The family reported the incident at Yala Police Station and the chief’s camp. The next day, news came on the radio that a girl’s body had been found in Sagam without some body parts, including her hands and head, and only one thigh remained intact.

The family went to the morgue, where they identified Elizabeth by her nails. Several days later, her mutilated head was discovered in a toilet at the village elder’s home. The family is awaiting DNA tests to confirm the identity. “We are very frustrated and saddened. We want justice for our child,” said Anyango.

On July 5, the body of Veronica Odongo, a 46-year-old woman, was found in Ulumbi village.

Nominated MCA Cynthia Ndar has called on security agencies to urgently solve the case and bring the perpetrator to justice. “This is clearly the work of a serial killer. It should not be dismissed as a random act,” she said.

Gem Yala Deputy Sub-County Police Commander Charles Wafula confirmed the incidents and said investigations are ongoing. “We have identified a suspect, but he remains at large,” he revealed.

Police suspect the killings are cult-related, noting the suspect operates without a mobile phone. Clothes found at one crime scene are aiding the investigation.

In a further development yesterday, the body of a man was found dumped near Kodiaga, heightening fears in the community.

The wave of gruesome murders has left residents living in fear and calling for urgent action to restore security in the area.