Daniel Muthiani: Mystery Of Missing Meru Blogger Deepens As Man's Body Is Found In Tharaka-Nithi

• Meru blogger and political activist Daniel Muthiani went missing on December 2 after receiving a call from a person known to him
• The family said the man's body found in Tharaka Nithi county was his body, but police have insisted on a DNA test to settle his identity
• The body which was found in Marimanti was badly decomposed; it had had eyes gouged out and tongue cut off

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Meru - The search for missing Meru blogger and political activist Daniel Muthiani, alias Sniper, has taken a new twist.

Why family Daniel Muthiani thinks the body found was his

Sniper went missing on December 2 after receiving a phone call from a person well-known to him.

Fourteen days after Sniper went missing, the body of a man was found in Marimati, Tharaka Nithi county, on Saturday, December 16.

The body, which was badly decomposed, had the eyes gouged out, and the tongue cut out, and it appeared it had been doused in acid to conceal its identity.

The man had his front teeth knocked out and his face completely disfigured by what appeared to be torture before being killed.

The Daily Nation reported that the family claimed the body was that of Sniper after positively identifying the clothes he wore on the day he went missing.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Thuranira Salesio Mutuma, a human rights defender in Meru county, said the man whose body was found died a painful death.

"Gouging the eyes, disfiguring the face and knocking out the teeth was meant to make him unidentifiable," Salesio said.

Salesio confirms the reports that the family had identified the body, but the police insist on DNA tests before making a final conclusion on the identity of the man whose body was found.

How Danie Muthiani went missing

As reported earlier, Sniper's wife, Irene Kawira, said the political activist and blogger left their Kabuiti home on December 2 at 8:30pm after he received a call from an acquaintance suggesting a meeting with him at an address he did not disclose.

Kawira said she did not call him that night until the following day. However, her efforts to reach him were thwarted as his phone was switched off.

Muthiani's brother, Francis Mutuma, revealed that the officers did not provide any updates on the progress of the search, leading them to approach the county police commander, Cunningham Suiyanka, for assistance.