Police in Nakuru County are holding a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer who allegedly murdered a civilian inside a police station on Wednesday night.
According to Nakuru North sub-county police commander Lilies Wachira, the KDF officer had visited the Githioro police canteen on Christmas Day to celebrate with his wife.
But while the two were drinking, the officer, whose identity has yet to be revealed to the public, got into an argument with one Maurice Gachanja, 74, who had also visited the place, leading to a physical altercation.
Police officers who were outside were attracted by a commotion emanating from inside the canteen and on arrival found the officer attacking the man.
The county police boss said they tried to separate the two, but Mr Gachanga was lying unconscious on the ground.
Officers rushed him to Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital but he succumbed before doctors could attend to him.
"The deceased is a regular at the canteen, we are yet to establish what happened before the fight broke out. The KDF officer is based in Isiolo, we have launched an investigation into the incident. We are still going through the CCTV footage. He is in custody," she said.
According to Ms Wachira, officers from the Nakuru North Directorate of Criminal Investigations are taking statements from witnesses to establish what happened.
"The canteen is used by the public because it's the only place where you can find alcohol and it's peaceful. When something like this happens, we are shocked. No one else was hurt. Those who were said that he was not hurt, he just physically attacked him," she said.
In a separate incident in Bahati, detectives have launched a manhunt for a man suspected of killing his lover before hiding her body in a sack.
Homicide detectives from Nairobi and Nakuru spent most of Thursday, December 26, at Mr Joseph Mwangi's homestead in Ngomongo village, combing the grounds.
"We do not know what happened but the suspect is a member of the family, the lady's eyes were gouged out and one breast was chopped off. The suspect is on the run. We are appealing to the public not to kill each other, they should cool their tempers when they have differences," said Ms Wachira.
A neighbour, Mr Edward Munyuku, said he received a call from Mr Mwangi at 8pm on December 25 asking him to rush to her house because her husband was not feeling well.
He said Mwangi's wife wanted to be helped to take him to hospital, but before they could leave, she realised that the worker was missing.
He said Mwangi's wife rushed to the servants' quarters to get the gate keys, but was shocked to find a sack of blood, but thought they had slaughtered a goat.
"We were shocked to see a human body in a sack, the eyes had been gouged out, a breast had been cut off. I did not identify her, her face was disfigured, and we called the area chief who later informed the police officer. We don't know who did it, but the worker is missing," he said.
In Mutaita village, Elementaita, Gilgil sub-county, police were forced to fire teargas to disperse residents protesting after a 75-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed on Wednesday.
Margret Wangui was last seen at 7pm on December 24 at a Mpesa shop in the Elementatita shopping centre, and her lifeless body was found in her bed the next day.
According to Ms Priscilla Obuya, a neighbour, one of Wangui's children had visited her for Christmas on Wednesday.
She said she found the door of the mother, who lived alone, partially closed and tried to knock but there was no response.
"When she opened the door, she found blood in the house , she rushed and called neighbours, we found her body on her bed. She had been killed and had injuries on her face. She really went through a lot at the hands of her killers, her uterus was out," she said.
"We loved to call her Tata, she was a good woman, kind, we all loved her, she was a prayerful woman and she used to pray for us. Her death is shocking. Whoever did this should be brought to book," she added.
Residents of Elementaita in Gilgil Sub-county, Nakuru County, demonstrate outside Elementaita Police Station over the sexual assault and killing of elderly women in the area. This is after two elderly women were raped and one killed on December 26, 2024.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
John Gwere, a Nyumba Kumi elder, called on police officers to step up patrols, saying cases of insecurity had increased in recent months.
Gilgil MP Martha Wangare called on the police to conduct a speedy investigation and arrest the suspect so that the family can get justice.
"The station has a vehicle but residents have been complaining that when they raise the alarm they take their time before responding, today they decided to go to the station themselves and unfortunately they were tear gassed, we don't know who did this but if a DNA test is conducted the mystery will be unravelled, the problem is that we don't have such a facility in Nakuru until the samples are taken to Kisumu which delays such cases," she said.
