KAJIADO, Kenya, Jun 3 – Two suspects linked to the brutal murder of 8 year-old girl Shantel Nzembi in Kitengela were Thursday arraigned at the Kajiado Law Courts.
Investigators sought more time to detain them pending conclusion of the ongoing investigations.
The prosecution made an application seeking to detain the two for 10 days.
Livingstone Makacha Otengo, 27, and Francis Mbuthia Mikuhu, 42, were presented before Kajiado Resident Magistrate Edwin Mulochi.
The court was informed that Makacha, a boda boda rider was arrested on Wednesday at Orata area in Kitengela and was found in possession of a mobile phone believed to have been used to seek ransom from the deceased’s mother.
The second suspect, Mbuthia, was arrested on Wednesday evening at around 9pm, and is said to have used his identity card to register an airtel mobile number where the ransom was wired to.
The two suspects did not object the prosecutions request to be detained for 10 days.
They will be held at the Kitengela police station.
Nzembi, who was a Grade 2 pupil went missing on Sunday from her home in Ashut area in Kitengela.
Once a police report was filed and a search kicked off, the 8-year old’s body was found dumped at Orata Noonkopir the following day, which was on a Monday.
Prior to her disappearance, the deceased’s mother, Christine Ngina said that her daughter had gone outside to play with her friend, whom she identified as Sharon.
She was last seen on Sunday at around 3pm.
Detectives privy to the investigations told Shahidi News that the deceased did not find her friend Sharon and instead went to play with other children.
Hours after her mother tried to look for her daughter, she received a cryptic phone call from an unknown person who told her that Shantel was in their custody.
“The female caller told me that she had my daughter. She kept on referring to me as mama Sharon though I told her my daughter was called Shantel. She said that if I wanted to see her alive, I should pay Sh300,000, ” said a distraught Ngina.
Hours after making calls to neighbors to try and see if anyone saw her daughter, her efforts proved futile.
Another child however told her that she had failed to spot her friend Sharon and they ended up playing together.
Shortly after, an unidentified woman is said to have called Shantel, pretending to inquire on whether there was an available apartment for rent in the area. That was the last time she was seen alive.
The incident was reported at the Kitengela police station.
Police believe the woman, who is working in cahoots with a gang, might have mistook her for Sharon.
The two girls are almost of the same age, height and have the same skin complexion.
“We believe the girl might not have been the target, since her parents have no enemies. Also, the ransom money they wanted, clearly the family could not acquire that money in a short time,” a detective who sought anonymity told Shahidi News.
It has also been established that Mama Sharon, the kidnapper kept on referring to, was one of their neighbours, who is a police officer.
Shantel’s parents work was casual labourers at the Export Processing Zone, Athi-river.
“When I was looking for my daughter, I asked the caretaker to give me Sharon’s mother phone number. I called her and inquired whether she saw my daughter but she said No. She also told me that Sharon was staying with her relatives and was not around,” Shantel’s mother said.
The kidnappers are then said to made numerous phone calls to mama Shantel instructing her to quickly send the ransom in order to reunite her with her daughter.
On Monday at around 8:47am she threatened that, “she would do something unspeakable.” At that point, police advised her to send the money.
They provided her with an airtel line, later established to be unregistered.
Hours later Shantel’s body was recovered, dumped inside a gunny bag.
It was spotted and reported by a bodaboda rider in the area at round 11am.
“We will pursue all leads in order to find those that committed this heinous act even though the kidnappers have since deactivated the Airtel line,” police said.
A gang of kidnappers is said to be operating within Kitengela area.
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