A 32-year-old woman found dead in her Lavington apartment had left a note asking her family to forgive her and outlining how she wanted to be laid to rest.
Mercy Wachiga Maina was found dead at Forhome Apartment in Lavington, Nairobi, on Thursday, September 3, weeks after she was last seen.
Police said Maina had not been seen since August 12. Her body was discovered on a bed on the 10th floor after neighbours raised concerns about a strong smell coming from the apartment.
Officers who arrived at the scene found the door locked from inside. They forced it open and discovered Maina’s decomposed body.
A charcoal-burning jiko was also found inside the room. Scenes of Crime officers processed the apartment before the body was taken to the City Mortuary.
Police said initial investigations point to suicide. Authorities also authenticated a note that Maina had left behind.
In the note, she urged people to treat one another with more kindness.
“Stop judging people,” she wrote.
She also asked her mother to forgive her. She requested either cremation or burial in a river, saying she loved rivers.
Maina asked that her belongings be given to her mother. She also expressed gratitude to her landlord for allowing her to remain in the apartment despite being unable to pay rent.
“I have been up since 4am, mostly trying to figure out how to go about this,” she wrote.
She appeared to anticipate how her decision might be viewed by others.
“Anyway, I know people say this is a coward’s way out,” she wrote. “So yeah, I might be the biggest coward ever.”
The circumstances and motive surrounding her death remain unclear, police and family members said.
Maina had also left her cat inside the apartment.
The case has drawn attention to the risks associated with charcoal-burning jikos in enclosed spaces. Charcoal can produce carbon monoxide, a colourless and odourless gas that can cause fatal poisoning in poorly ventilated areas.
Police investigations into Maina’s death are continuing.
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