On Friday last week, Sister Anselimina Karimi, a Catholic nun and the administrator of Meru Children's Home, confided in her brother Martin Mbae that her life was in danger.
In less than 24 hours, Sr Karimi was brutally murdered on Saturday night. Police arrested fellow nun, Sister Caroline Kanjiru.
Preliminary investigations point to a possible tussle over the management of the children’s home that is run by the Catholic Church.
Meru Senior Resident Magistrate Evelyne Ndegwa on Tuesday allowed the police to detain Sr Kanjiru for 14 days at Meru Police Station.
"I find it necessary for the suspect to be detained for 14 days to facilitate DNA tests at the Government Chemist. This will also ensure the suspect’s safety because members of the society are angry," Ms Ndegwa ruled.
Of interest to investigators are the communication patterns of the suspect, Sr Karimi’s phone data and money trail, among other vital clues.
The brother, Mr Mbae, said that a postmortem done by the family’s pathologist on Monday showed that his sister was hit on the head with a blunt object and died due to the injuries she suffered. The attack led to bleeding in the brain, a broken neck and injuries to the hands. It also emerged that Sr Karimi was tied up and tortured before being murdered.
Police reports indicate that Sr. Karimi is believed to have been lured out of her house at the children's home and murdered. Thereafter, her body was returned to the house.
Sr Caroline Kanjiru before Meru Court on October 14, 2025.
Photo credit: David Muchui | Nation Media Group
The murder is believed to have taken place between 10pm and 1am. Investigators have established that the nun’s phone was used to make some calls at around 12am on Sunday.
The police are also pursuing other persons of interest who may have been involved in the murder. Detectives are also searching for the nun’s phones, which were switched off on the night of the murder.
The prime suspect, Sr Kanjiru, had been sent to the children's home in Nkabune to replace Sr Karimi under the instructions of the Mother Superior of Nazareth Sisters of Annunciation.
Speaking to Daily Nation, Mr Mbae said that he had earlier met his sister at Kariene Police Station on Friday last week. He had been assisting her in a case in which a vehicle belonging to the institution that she headed was involved a road accident.
"While at Kariene, she told me that she was fearing for her life. She informed me that there were wrangles at the children's home between her and a colleague. She even claimed that there could be a plot for her to be killed," Mr Mbae recounted.
Shocked by his sister's revelations, Mr Mbae said that he advised her to go back home and wait for her transfer to be processed.
"The claims of a murder plot in a church-run institution sounded too surreal for me. I could not believe that such a thing could happen. But my sister appeared worried," he said.
He would later briefly meet Sr Karimi on Saturday evening as she was visiting a patient at Consolata Mission Hospital in Nkubu.
And as fate would have it, Mr Mbae was among the first outsiders to respond to a distress call on Sunday morning after he was called by a nun and informed about the incident at the children’s home.
"At around 5.45am on Sunday, I received a call from my sister's colleague. She asked me to rush to the children's home since Karimi had fallen in the dining room. I arrived at the home within 30 minutes and found her lying on her back. Four nuns were standing by the door holding a blanket," Mr Mbae said.
He thought that the nuns were not able to lift his sister, so he tried to pick her up from the floor so that she could be rushed to hospital.
"But immediately I touched her, I discovered that her body was very cold, and her tongue was sticking out. There was blood on the floor. I put her down, and on checking further, I noticed injuries on her arms. I was also surprised to see that she did not have her veil on," Mr Mbae said.
“Then the four nuns carried my sister’s body and placed it in the boot of a vehicle and drove to the hospital. That is when the spot where her body had been lying was cleaned,” Mr Mbae said.
"They drove to Consolata Hospital, Nkubu Mortuary, but the mortician demanded a police occurrence book number before booking the body. It was then that the matter was reported at Nkubu Police Station," he said.
Mr Mbae later reported the matter at Meru Police Station. This led to the arrest of Sr Kanjiru by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives on Sunday afternoon.
Family members said that Sr Karimi had been at the helm of Meru Children's Home for close to three decades. In between, she had been moved, but only for a brief period.
"Sister Karimi was very hardworking and believed in leading by example. She was not satisfied with watching as people worked. She could even go to work on the farm by herself. She was a tough manager who was highly valued for her impeccable performance," a relative, Ms Ann Njebiu, said.
She said Sr Karimi, who was a member of the congregation of Nazareth Sisters of Annunciation in Meru, had rich experience in children's welfare.
