Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured a suspect walking with a missing girl in Nyeri town — a crucial lead that unravelled a murder and led to the discovery of her body.
Chaos erupted in Nyeri Town on Monday evening after police fired teargas to disperse angry residents protesting the brutal murder of the seven-year-old girl who had been missing for four days.
Tamara Blessing, a seven-year-old girl who had been missing from Nyeri town for four days, was found murdered.
Photo credit: Pool | Nation
The girl, identified as Tamara Blessing, was last seen on Friday evening near the town’s main open-air market, where her mother works as a trader.
Her disappearance sparked a frantic search by family members and locals, but their efforts bore no fruit until Sunday, when CCTV footage from a shop near the market revealed her last known movements.
According to Nyeri Town Sub-county Police Commander Andrew Mugo, the footage showed the minor walking alongside a man familiar to many at the market.
“The locals were able to identify the man, popularly known as ‘Macha’, who works as a porter at the market,” said Mr Mugo. Residents immediately alerted the police, who arrested the suspect.
During interrogation, he led officers to his house in Witemere slums on the outskirts of Nyeri Town.
It was there that officers found Tamara’s body stuffed in a gunny bag and buried beneath the man’s bed.
News of the incident quickly spread, sparking outrage across the town.
Nyeri residents demand justice after murder of seven-year-old girl
Enraged residents stormed the suspect’s home, baying for his blood and expressing frustration over what they said was an increased pattern of unsolved child disappearances and killings in the area.
This saw the crowd carry the girl’s body from the suspect’s house to Nyeri Police Station, demanding justice for the minor.
“We are tired. This is not the first time a child has gone missing and turned up dead. The police have become lazy in solving such cases,” said Anne Muthoni, a trader at the market.
Mr Mugo said investigations are still ongoing and that the suspect will be arraigned in court once the probe is complete.
