Kitale pastor among two arrested over girl’s killing
A section of River Nzoia. Police in Trans Nzoia County have arrested two men, one of them a pastor, in connection to the shocking murder of a girl, 8, whose body was retrieved from River Nzoia on Sunday.
Police in Trans Nzoia County have arrested two men, one of them a pastor, in connection to the shocking murder of an eight-year-old girl whose body was retrieved from River Nzoia on Sunday.
The two suspects, Pastor Amos Wekesa, 40, and Job Wanyama, 36, were arrested and taken to Kitale Police Station after the girl’s relatives and villagers pointed an accusing finger at them.
According to the family, on the night of Friday going to Saturday when Scolasticah Njoki Muraya, a Grade Two pupil at Kapsara Primary School, went missing, the two had claimed to have seen her.
"What raised suspicion amongst us and fellow villagers was the duo’s constant assurance that the girl would surface from wherever she was,” Mr, Jacktone Muraya, the girl’s grandfather, told the Nation.
Trans Nzoia County Criminal Investigations Officer Francis Kihara confirmed that the mutilated body of the minor was found in the river after two days of frantic search by villagers and security officers.
He explained that Mrs Polivine Simiyu, the girl’s mother, sent her daughter to Kapsara trading centre on Friday at 5pm to buy some household items.
However, she did not return home as expected, prompting her mother to raise the alarm at around 7pm.
Night search
According to Mr Muraya, security officers and the villagers embarked on a search up to Saturday night, which did not bear fruit.
“The search continued on Saturday. One shoe of the deceased’s pair of shoes was spotted along a footpath, providing the necessary lead to the search team,” noted Mr Muraya, adding the team traced footprints towards River Nzoia.
According to police records, an innerwear, correctly identified as belonging to the minor, was found near Kapsara bridge where spots of blood stains were also noticed at the disturbed scene.
The footmarks further directed the search team to the river where the body was found floating.
“The body was naked and had scratches along the neck and lower parts,” said Mr Muraya, who added that the girl had injuries on her private parts, an indication that she had been defiled and strangled before being thrown into the river.
He warned parents against sending minors on errands away from home in the evenings.
The body was taken to Kitale County Referral Hospital mortuary.
