Three men who allegedly murdered a house help and defiled a 12-year-old girl when they broke into a home in Ruiru’s Membley Estate last Friday will be arraigned Wednesday.
Levy Abubakar, Zablon Kariuki Maungu and David Abungana were arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Monday night after two days on the run.
Maungu, 43, and Abungana, 40, worked at a construction site adjacent to the scene of crime and police believe they had been monitoring movements in the home for a while.
Aware that the owners would be back home in the evening, the suspects stormed in and took their time rummaging through the house as they looked for cash and valuables.
For three hours — between 9am and noon — they turned things upside down as the house help, Monica Nduta, and the girl left in her care watched in horror.
CCTV footage in police custody shows Abubakar, 36, pacing around the living room in desperate search for money.
Satisfied, he puts on a black hat, picks a kitchen knife and instructs the helpless girl to follow him into one of the rooms.
Detectives say her mouth was stuffed with pairs of socks and her neck strangled with a piece of cloth.
She also suffered cuts on her palms, possibly as she tried to fight off the attackers. The deceased, who was estranged to her husband, left behind two children.
“We were in constant communication and had talked the previous night before she was killed. We had separated for a while but things were working well for us and our plan was to reunite next week,” her estranged husband told the Nation.
“She was a very good lady who was working hard to provide for her children after a difficult period. We are still coming to terms with what happened. It pains to lose such a beautiful soul; all we ask is for justice to be served,” said Mr Samuel Mwaniki, the family spokesperson.
They have started burial plans in Njabini, Nyandarua County.
