Meru gender office worker accused of stabbing lover to death

Ms Florence Kanario, murder suspect Mau Meru

Ms Florence Kanario, who works in the Meru Gender Office. Detectives say she may have stabbed Maua court clerk Swaleh Kalema in the neck following an argument over a waiter.

Photo credit: Courtesy

A court in Maua, Meru, has allowed police to continue holding for 10 more days a county employee in connection with the brutal murder of her boyfriend.

Detectives say that Florence Kanario, who works in the Meru Gender Office, may have stabbed Maua court clerk Swaleh Kalema in the neck following an argument over a waiter.

Igembe South DCIO Tiberius Ekisa applied for more time to piece together what led to the death of the young administrator, who was last seen with Ms Kanario.

His body was found dumped on the edge of a road in KK, Igembe Central, moments after they left a popular hotel in Laare town.

Witnesses who saw the couple together said they had quarrelled after Ms Kanario accused the man of seducing a waitress at the hotel’s bar in her presence on Sunday.

Body on the roadside

Igembe South police boss Hassan Ali said the body of the deceased man, who hailed from Kisauni, was found lying on the side of a road, near a church.

His wallet with cash and documents and an expensive phone appeared to have been untouched, leading police to rule out robbery as the motive of the killing.

Police say Ms Kanario, 31, had argued with Mr Kalema after she found him in a compromising position with the waitress at a popular entertainment spot in Laare.

CCTV footage indicates that the two, who were cohabiting, arrived at Kajuko hotel at around 5pm on Sunday and left together at around 3am.

Before they left, Ms Kanario is seen storming out of the hotel and going to her vehicle after she accused Mr Kalema of having an affair with the waitress.

Twenty minutes later, Mr Kalema walks out of the hotel with the waiter and Ms Kanario drives towards them. The man then boards the vehicle and they drive away.

Argument

Police suspect an argument ensued between the couple as it appeared that Mr Kalema was killed before they arrived in Maua, where they lived.

They say that Ms Kanario then dumped the body on the side of a road and proceeded to their house but did not make a report to the police.

Police noticed injuries in Ms Kanario’s two fingers when they arrested her. The cuts had been freshly stitched but she could not explain how she suffered the injuries.