NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 17- A family in Githurai was desperately sending money, the little they could get, to kidnappers in the hope their kin would be released alive, not knowing her body was at the city mortuary booked as unknown person.
Police have already launched investigations into the brutal murder of the 23-year-old woman in Githurai, Kiambu County.
What do we know about the incident?
The body of Christine Ambani was found at a parking lot in Githurai on Monday night and taken to city mortuary.
Records seen by Shahidi News at city mortuary show that she was brought in at 3am and booked as unknown.
The deceased, who was known to her friends as Chrizo, was last seen on July 12 in Githurai area.
A friend who spoke to Shahidi News said they parted ways at a bus stop as she went to meet an ex-boyfriend that afternoon.
“Someone wanted her dead, we believe it was not just an abduction, it was a plan that had been put in place,” a detective privy to the ongoing investigations said.
What makes police believe it was a well-planned murder is the fact that those who killed her then took control of her WhatsApp and started chatting in the family group, demanding for money. At this point she had been killed.
By the time the kidnappers were threatening the family with killing their daughter, she was already dead and at the city mortuary.
“The first message we received in the group was introducing us to my sister by someone who claimed she had their money, they even sent us a screenshot of some M-Pesa message of how they had sent my sister Sh87,000; but the message was doctored because the transaction cost was Sh300 when it should have been Sh105, we knew something was not right,” said Ruth Ambani, Christine’s sister.
The family would only know later that their loved one had been killed the same day she went missing, but her kidnappers were demanding for money up until Wednesday, while threatening to kill her.
Ruth told Shahidi News that “The person even sent us a photo of her in some unknown house. We have seen her body and the clothes she had in the photo are the same ones she has here, we don’t understand why anyone will want to harm our sister.”
She had already, “sent five thousand shillings to my sister’s number as had been instructed. But when I asked for proof of life, the person (the kidnapper) could not provide.”
Police are in the process of establishing how the money was withdrawn from Christine’s account and by who.
A close friend of Christine’s told Shahidi News that she was in communication with the deceased up to about 7.30pm, on the fateful Monday.
“She had gone to meet a male friend I know, but I’m not sure they met because in between there was some contradicting information in our communication; but we were in touch from 6am and last at about 7.30pm,” she said.
This is the latest incident of kidnapping and subsequent murder, in a growing trend that has affected mostly children and young women.
With a slowed down economy and persisting COVID-19 pandemic, security experts have warned the situation might worsen, if nothing is done.
Other cases of crime on an upward trajectory in the country, including cases of gender-based violence.
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