Three suspects were on Tuesday charged at a Kajiado Court with the murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kitengela.
Nativity Mutindi Ntuku, Livingstone Makacha Otengo and Patrick Mureithi Wambaire who appeared before the Kajiado Resident Magistrate, Edwin Mulochi, were charged with the murder of Shantel Nzembi, a grade four pupil.
According to the charge sheet, the three suspects on diverse dates between May 29 and 31, 2021 at Orata area within Kitengela town murdered the minor.
The Magistrate ordered the three to undergo a mental examination before taking plea at the Machakos High Court on June 24, 2021.
A fourth suspect, Francis Mbuthia, was released after investigations revealed that he was innocent.
Mbuthia had been arrested with the three as the phone number used to call the girl’s mother to demand for a ransom had originally been registered in his name.
However, investigations revealed that the line had been dormant since 2019 and was registered afresh using Nativity Nthuku’s employer’s ID number this year.
Shantel Nzembi, went missing on Saturday May 29, after leaving her home in Orata, Kitengela town to go play with a neighbour’ daughter only identified as Sharon.
Her mother, Christine Ngina, said she got worried when she did not return early and went looking for her at Sharon’s home only to be told Sharon was away visiting a relative.
Ngina started looking for her daughter everywhere to no avail. She would then receive a call from a private number from a lady asking her to send Sh300, 000 for the release of her daughter.
“The woman on the phone told me that she had my daughter. She kept on referring to me as Mama Sharon though I told her my daughter was called Shantel. She said that if I wanted to see her alive, I should pay Sh300, 000,” said Ngina.
Ngina said she reported the incident to the police only for her daughter’s body to be recovered on Monday May 31 inside a gunny bag, at Orata area, Noonkopir Kitengela.
A postmortem report carried out by Government’s Pathologist, Johansen Oduor, on June 4, revealed that she had died as a result of suffocation in the mouth and nose.
By Rop Janet
