Two human-butcher Nigerian suspects charged over Rita Waeni’s gruesome murder
Two Nigerians, William Ovie Opia and Johnbull Asbor, both found to be illegally in the country were yesterday charged before the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi with the macabre massacre of the 20 years old university student Rita Waeni in Nairobi’s Roysambu area.
Before their arraignment, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Sunday evening arrested in Ndenderu, Kiambu county.
Yesterday, makadara Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi allowed police to detain the duo for eight days pending completion of investigations into their possible involvement in the murder of the student.
They will be in custody until January 31.
Officers from DCI’s Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) recovered a hatchet, one of the suspected murder weapon Opia bought from an online vendor, butcher’s knife, identity card belonging to a Kenyan (name withheld), six mobile phones, three laptops, and 10 SIM cards from the house where the two were living.
The suspects were living at Muniu and Company Investment apartment house number 17, according to an affidavit sworn by Investigating Officer, detective Benjamin Wangila.
“The foreigners are found to be unlawfully present in Kenya since William Ovie Opia’s passport number A08322863 is expired while Johnbull Asibor does not have a passport, only claiming he lost it about a year ago.” The affidavit read in part.
“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 stated in an affidavit filed at Makadara Law courts.
“The applicant requires adequate time to escort the respondents to the Government Chemist for extraction of their blood samples for DNA analysis and comparison against the samples that were extracted from the scene of crime.” The affidavit adds in part.
The detective said the suspects were flight risks since they do not have a known fixed abode.
Wangila was seeking orders to hold the suspects for eight days at the Kasarani Police station which were granted by Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi of Makadara Law Courts.
They will be in custody until January 31.
Already, two suspects are in custody including Priscila Maina, the owner of the apartment where Muendo was brutally killed. She is in custody for failure to register her tenant’s crucial details as required by the law, which would have helped the DCI to trace the murder suspect
On Sunday, the head of a woman was discovered at Ite Dam at Kimuga village in the area.
Also recovered were some of the slain woman’s belongings including her mobile phone. “We have a human head believed to be that of the slain woman but we will say more after probe,” said a senior detective involved in the probe.
Wangila said he is investigating a case of murder contrary to section 203 is read with section 204 of the Penal Code which was reported at Kasarani police station vide OB34/14/01/2024 by Priscila Maina, the owner of the short stay – rental apartment where Waeni was killed.
