Detectives in Mathira West, Nyeri County, have retrieved the body of Shantel Waruguru Kagema from a pit latrine after the suspect led them to where he dumped her.
Shantel, 9, went missing on Sunday at Kianjathi village after she was left home with her younger sister.
Her parents reported her disappearance and efforts to trace her started.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the parents alerted the police, prompting an exhaustive search that unearthed disturbing clues.
“Undergarments and shoes were discovered on an old blue mattress in an abandoned house nearby. The scene was meticulously processed and documented by Crime Scene Investigations officers, and the clothes collected and detained as exhibits” DCI said.
After detectives embarked on a manhunt for the perpetrator, they zeroed in on Peter Njuguna, an uncle who was arrested, and upon interrogation, led detectives to the grisly location where he’d discarded her body in his pit latrine.
With assistance from the members of the public, detectives retrieved the body, taking it to the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
Pit latrine where Shantel’s body was discovered.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that on the day of the tragedy, Njuguna, who lives nearby, coaxed Shantel’s younger sister by giving her Sh10 to go and buy sweets. With the sister momentarily out of the house, he remained with Shantel, where the suspect committed an unspeakable act” DCI stated.
Upon presenting him in court today, detectives secured a 21-day custodial order to detain the suspect to enable them conduct a comprehensive investigation.
