Nigerian Butchers Caught With Student’s Head in a Sack
Two Nigerian men have been arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of a 20-year-old Kenyan student, whose head was found in a sack near her apartment.
The suspects, identified as William Opia and Johnbull Asbor, were living illegally in Kenya and had been hiding in an apartment in Ndenderu, Kiambu County, when they were tracked down by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The victim, Rita Waeni, was a student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and had been reported missing by her family on January 15. Her head, covered in a sack and wrapped in a purple blouse, was discovered by a passer-by on January 18, sparking a massive manhunt for her killers.
According to The Nation Media Group, the DCI’s Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau used leads and evidence collected from the Kasarani crime scene, where Waeni’s body was believed to have been dismembered, to locate the suspects.
Constable Benjamin Wangila from Kasarani DCI offices told a Makadara court that the suspects’ proximity to the discovery of body parts strengthened the case against them.
The police also revealed that they recovered a hatchet, a butcher’s knife, a Kenyan national ID (belonging to an unknown person), six mobile phones, three laptops, 10 SIM cards, and various other items from the suspects’ hideout.
“The investigation team is seeking to obtain call data records for all the SIM cards and mobile phone numbers recovered from the respondents to ascertain whether they were involved in the murder,” Wangila said in an affidavit filed to the court.
He added that obtaining blood samples for DNA analysis and comparison against crime scene samples was crucial.
The suspects were deemed to be flight risks due to their lack of legal residency and fixed address, and were remanded at Kasarani police station for eight days by Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi of Makadara Law Courts.
The affidavit also disclosed that Opia allegedly purchased the hatchet online for self-defence.
The investigation into Waeni’s murder is ongoing, with authorities working to understand the motive and reconstruct the events leading to her tragic death.
