Two Nigerian nationals have been taken into custody by Kenyan police detectives for the murder and dismemberment of a twenty-year-old female, Rita Waeni, a student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
The suspects, William Ovie Opia and Johnbull Asbor, were discovered by Directorate of Criminal Intelligence (DCI) detectives hiding in a residence in Ndenderu, Kiambu County, not far from the location where Waeni’s head was eventually located.
Based on information obtained from the murder scene, the Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) of the Directorate of Criminal Intelligence was able to locate the suspects.
Constable Benjamin Wangila of Kasarani DCI said that the suspects’ proximity to the body parts’ discovery further strengthened the case against them.
He said that upon their arrest, a variety of items were recovered from the culprit’s apartment, and these include a hatchet, a butcher’s knife, a Kenyan National Identity Card registered under the name Omar Mwamkwaju Juma, six mobile phones, three laptops, various SIM cards from Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom, along with other items.
”In order to prove the suspects’ involvement in the killing, authorities will examine call logs from the confiscated mobile phones. The investigation team is trying to get call data records for all the SIM cards and mobile phone numbers that were recovered from the respondents in order to determine whether they were involved in the murder,” Wangila stated.
In a court affidavit, he explained how important it is to collect blood samples for DNA analysis and comparison with samples taken from crime scenes.
Senior Principal Magistrate at Makadara Law Courts, Agnes Mwangi granted the two suspects an eight-day detention order at the Kasarani police station.
The suspects have been living in Kenya illegally because Opia’s passport expired, and Asbor claimed he lost his travel documents two years ago.
