Woman in court over cousin’s death
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is holding a woman who took the body of her 10-year-old cousin to City Mortuary after she was allegedly tortured to death at her aunt’s house in Nairobi.
Jackline Mumuli is detained at Pangani police station pending investigations into the death of Janet Nambia.
She was arrested at the morgue on December 24 after presenting the body claiming the deceased died of illness.
Police officers at the mortuary noticed the minor’s body had multiple injuries on the head, neck and a shoulder and informed their counterparts at Pangani.
A relative of the minor had reported to police that the deceased was noticed to be unwell at the home along Chai Road in Pangani, Nairobi and rushed to the Radiant hospital along Junja road where she was pronounced dead. Lameck Dallas had found the minor unconscious.
The minor is suspected to have been killed by the suspect’s mother Loise Achieng who has gone into hiding and the suspect is believed to have been used to cover up the murder by taking the child the hospital already dead. Ms Achieng is the maternal aunt of the deceased child.
She was living with the minor after her mother died.
Detective constable Mohammed Ibrahim of Pangani DCI offices told Makadara law courts that investigations into the circumstances and facts surrounding the murder of the deceased person and involvement otherwise of the respondent (Mumuli) are incomplete.
Ibrahim said several key issues have not been covered and the arrest of the main suspect (Ms Achieng) who is at large has not been effected.
“Her last access was in Western at a place called Ndalu where she switched off her phone,” Ibrahim states in an affidavit filed at the court. He was seeking orders to hold Mumuli for 14 days.
Ibrahim said preliminary investigations indicate the motive of the act is suspected to have been a severe corporal punishment subjected to the deceased.
Senior principal magistrate Angelo Kithinji allowed the detective to detain the suspect until January 7 next year.