The late Nancy Mangi was brutally killed and her naked body was dumped at Majaoni village in Kilifi North Sub-county.
Detectives investigating the murder of a Kilifi woman in November last year have nailed five suspects said to have been using the victim’s two mobile phones.
The late Nancy Mangi was brutally killed and her naked body was dumped at Majaoni village in Kilifi North Sub-county.
The suspects, Lincoln Ng’ang’a, Maxymiller Alividza, Peter Osoro Nyangou, Sheila Njeri Karuga, and John Ngugi Ritho, were arraigned before Kilifi Chief Magistrate Charles Obulusta on Monday.
They were arrested on Wednesday, March 5, in Ngara and Uthiru and transferred to Kilifi on Friday, March 7.
Police informed the court that Ms Karuga had indicated she purchased one of the phones in question through a second-hand deal.
The suspects are being investigated for robbery with violence, murder, rape, torture resulting in death, and unauthorised interference with a computer system, which are the mobile phones belonging to the deceased.
According to detectives, investigations revealed that phone numbers registered in the suspects’ names were paired with the deceased’s two mobile phones, as evidenced by International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers.
The investigating officer James Ngotho from Kilifi Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said during the investigations, it was established that the phones were stolen during the fatal attack.
“Both lines went offline on November 5 at 7:59 pm and 4:49am at Kilifi’s Mtondia area, respectively,” he said.
The phones would later be reactivated on diverse dates and were tracked to cell towers in Uthiru.
Mr Ngotho told the court that forensic analysis established that on November 12, one of the phones, an Itel A04, was reactivated and linked to a mobile number registered to one Edwin Mukiri but was being used by the first respondent, Mr Ng’ang’a in Uthiru.
Two days later, on November 14, the same phone was activated by a different mobile number registered to the second respondent, Ms Alividza within the same area.
Detectives found out that after a week, on November 21, the second phone was paired with a mobile number registered to the third respondent Mr Peter Osoro, and later on December 17, it was paired with another number registered to Ms Elizabeth Wambui (not among the suspects), mother to the fourth respondent Sheila Njeri Karuga.
The same phone had been paired with a mobile phone number registered to the fifth respondent Mr John Ngugi on January 8.
“She (Ms Karuga) and her sister bought a second-hand phone in the Nairobi Uthiru area,” Mr Ngotho stated in his affidavit.
He however added that the respondents’ explanations of how they came into possession of the phones were not satisfactory.
Magistrate Obulutsa allowed the Kilifi DCI to hold the suspects for 10 days at the Kilifi Police Station pending the completion of investigations.
The DCI had requested the time to conduct DNA sampling in comparison with what was gathered at the scene of the crime and also stated that the time is needed for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to peruse the files and advise on the way forward.
He said the suspects were flight risks since they were not residents of Kilifi.
In addition, Mr Ngotho stated that considering the nature of the alleged offence and its impact on the public, there was a need for their safety.
On November 8 last year, two days after the incident, detectives from Kilifi DCI arrested a suspect, linking him to the murder of the Mangi but later released him after they failed to find sufficient evidence to connect him to the crime.
The body of the late Mangi was found dumped on a farm in the Mwangani area along the Kilifi-Malindi highway with severe physical injuries in November last year.
Mr Ngotho said the death incident was reported at the Kilifi Police Station by the father of the deceased, Mr John Mrabu Lewa from Majaoni village in Kilifi North Constituency vide OB 32/06/11/2024.
Police believe that the offence occurred between 7pm, on November 5 and 6am, on November 6.
“The lifeless body of the late Nancy Mangi was found lying on the ground facing upwards with blood oozing from the mouth and her hands were tied with a piece of cloth,” the investigator said in his affidavit.
He said the autopsy done in November 2024 established that the deceased was sexually assaulted.
The autopsy revealed that the woman succumbed to asphyxia (suffocation) and abdominal injuries due to blunt-force trauma. The case will be mentioned on March 19.
